The controversy surrounding comedian Kunal Kamra continued on Wednesday as music behemoth T-Series sent him a notice of copyright infringement. The notice was for using the song Bholi Si Surat Aankhon Masti from the Bollywood movie Dil To Pagal Hai in one of his acts.
Kamra replied by posting a screenshot of the notice on his X (formerly Twitter) handle. In his tweet, he targeted T-Series, saying,
"Hi @TSeries, stop being a stooge. Parody & Satire fall under fair use legally. I haven't used the lyrics or the original instrumental of the song. If you remove this video from upload, all cover song/dance videos can be removed. Creators, pay attention to this. By the way, every monopoly in India is nothing but a mafia, so watch/download this special before it gets removed. FYI – T-Series, I live in Tamil Nadu."
Backlash Over Kamra's Political Satire
The furore arose over Kamra's recent show at Habitat Studio in Mumbai where he crooned a parody rendition of the song mentioning Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as a Gaddar (traitor). The issue went out of hand when Kamra uploaded the clip on his social media page.
His words evoked sharp criticism from Shinde-led Shiv Sena camp, which found them insulting. In return, Shiv Sena workers smashed Habitat Studio with the help of hammers and equipment. Opposition parties like Congress and Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) came to the support of Kamra.
Legal Action and Police Summons
Following the row, Mumbai Police served a summons to Kamra on Tuesday, asking him to give his statement in the case registered against him. Police sources said that Khar police station officers went to his Mumbai house, where his parents reside, and served him the notice. But as Kamra is away from the city, he was also served the summons through WhatsApp.
Kangana Ranaut Weighs In
Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut also responded to Kamra's remarks. Referring to the matter, she said,
"How he was teasing me and the illegal thing that had occurred to me—he was taunting that. But I am not going to relate that to this incident. The one in authority has his dignity to maintain. You are insulting him under the guise of comedy, defaming him, and ignoring his work. Shinde ji used to ride a rickshaw earlier, and now he has come to this level through his hard work."
As legal wrangles and political tensions escalate, Kamra's case remains the subject of heated debate regarding satire, freedom of expression, and copyright in India.
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