The letter was written by the UP State Women’s Commission’s vice-chairperson, Aparna Yadav, to the Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar on February 14. She urged the police to either ensure that Anubhav’s show does not contain disrespectful content about women or cancel it entirely.
Lucknow: Popular stand-up comedian and actor Anubhav Singh Bassi’s shows in Lucknow were cancelled by the police due to concerns about law and order. The cancellation happened after the Uttar Pradesh State Women’s Commission sent a letter to the police, asking them to ensure that his performances do not “malign women.”
The letter was written by the UP State Women’s Commission’s vice-chairperson, Aparna Yadav, to the Director General of Police (DGP) Prashant Kumar on February 14. She urged the police to either ensure that Anubhav’s show does not contain disrespectful content about women or cancel it entirely.
Her letter stated, “It has been known that on February 15, a comedy show of Anurag Singh Bassi is being organised at the Indira Gandhi Pratisthan, Lucknow. After watching his previous shows on his YouTube channel, it has been noted that indecent words are used during his shows. Hence, you (DGP) are expected to please ensure that in this proposed programme and similar programmes of stand-up artists, neither any indecent words nor any undignified comments are made on women. Such shows should be cancelled and not permitted in the future if possible.”
Anubhav Singh Bassi, who also acted in Luv Ranjan’s movie Tu Jhoothi Main Makkaar, was supposed to perform two shows in Lucknow on Saturday—one at 3 PM and another at 7 PM. However, the police denied the organisers a No Objection Certificate (NOC), preventing them from going ahead with the event.
ACP Radha Raman Singh explained the reason behind the cancellation. He cited security concerns and the risk of potential protests due to possible “objectionable content.” This could have led to a law and order problem.
Meanwhile, Aparna Yadav referred to a recent controversy involving influencer Ranveer Allahbadia and said, “I do not believe that hurling abuses at mothers and sisters is necessary to make people laugh.”
The cancellation of Anubhav’s shows sparked debates on social media platforms like Reddit and X (formerly Twitter). Many users felt that comedians were being unfairly targeted after a recent controversy.
One user wrote, “Because of one person now others will suffer. Genuine comedians who want to perform without crossing line will now get punished.” Others called it the “worst decision.”
However, some users supported the decision, saying, “It’s time such jokes be banned.” Others, on the other hand, found the move “nonsensical.”
This incident follows a controversy involving influencer Ranveer Allahbadia, who made a joke about sex and parents on Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent. The joke led to outrage, and legal complaints were filed against him, along with other influencers like Samay Raina, Apoorva Mukhija, and Ashish Chanchlani. The Mumbai police recorded their statements in the case.
Initially, Mumbai police claimed they could not trace Ranveer, but he later released a statement saying that he was receiving death threats and that some people pretending to be clients had invaded his mother’s clinic.
Apoorva Mukhija’s friends also revealed that she has been receiving rape threats on social media. Meanwhile, Ashish Chanchlani cancelled a planned screening of Captain America following the backlash.
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