STAR PLUS DROPS TELECAST OF COMEDIAN MIMICKING MODI

The Great Indian Laughter Challenge has started on a rather mild note, with the TRPs falling extremely short of the expected mark. But even in this short span of time, the show and its contestants have managed to get embroiled in controversy.

According to reports, Star Plus has decided to drop the telecast of one episode where a contestant, Shyam Rangeela, performed an act imitating Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The video was leaked online and went viral within a matter of hours, but was later taken down following a copyright claim by a subsidiary of Star India Private Limited.

In an interview with The Wire, Rangeela said, “Almost a month after the episode was originally recorded, I got a phone call from the production team of the reality show asking me to shoot a new act because the channel decided to not air it.” This happened shortly after two further scripts that he had submitted were rejected because they were based on Modi. “The production team told me that the decision to not air my act was taken because the channel feared that it would offend some people and they might protest against them.”

After Rangeela was asked to re-record his act without mimicking Modi, he was told that he could imitate Rahul Gandhi. "I thought, ok, at least they are letting me do something, I can salvage something. But later they told me I can’t do Rahul either," the contestant said in the same interview.

While the original video was taken down, Rangeela performed a part of the act for The Wire readers. Here's the full video of Shyam speaking about the incident:

“Akshay Kumar loved my act and even made me perform it backstage when the team of Golmaal Again came to promote their movie on the reality show,” said Rangeela, who wasn’t paid any remuneration by the channel. He was eliminated from the show two episodes after the new act was aired.

This is the second time that a media house has disapproved Modi's mimicry to go on-air. Earlier this year, Radio Mirchi scrapped its popular ‘Mitron’ segment, apparently after complaints from senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

We are still waiting for an official statement from the channel.