?I am done?, says stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui?s 12 shows get cancelled in two months

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Stand-up comedian Munawar Faruqui’s life has been no less than a rollercoaster ride. On January 1, 2021, he got arrested for a joke he never cracked and served 28 days in jail before law could take its due course.  

Like Vir Das commented, ‘I come from two Indias’, Munawar has been getting the love and hate of both Indias. In other words, despite getting sold-out shows wherever he performed, many of his shows had to be cancelled because of the hate-mongering crowd. 

After Goa, Mumbai, Gujarat and other cities, now a show at Bengaluru got cancelled. The show was to be held at the Good Shepherd auditorium on November 28 and around 700 tickets for the show had been sold, according to the organisers. On Saturday, a day prior to the show, the Bengaluru police asked the organisers to cancel it, due to threats from Hindu vigilante groups. Following the police communique, the auditorium owners told the event organisers that they would not give access to the venue for Munawar’s show.

Not the first time

The comedian says 12 of his shows have been cancelled in the past two months because of such threats. 

Taking to Twitter on Sunday, Munawar shared a long note that read, “Aaj Bangalore show cancel ho gaya (under the threats of vandalism). A month back my team called late Puneeth Rajkumar sir’s organisation for some charity work, fund for which we were going to generate from this show in Bangalore!” The note further read, “Putting me in the jail for the joke I never cracked to cancelling my shows which has nothing objectionable, this is unfair. This show has gained so much love from people in India irrespective of their religion. This is unfair… We do have a censor certificate of the show and clearly there’s nothing problematic in the show! We called off 12 shows in past two months because of the threats to the venue and the audience.” 

He captioned his post as, “Nafrat jeet hai, artist haar gaya. I’m done! Goodbye! Injustice. He even wrote a shayari as parting words, “I think this is the end. My name is Munawar Faruqui and that’s been my time, you guys were wonderful audience. Goodbye! I am done.”

The real Munawar

The comedian who had visited Chandigarh thrice since that jail ordeal said,   “I love to make people laugh and smile. And would choose comedy over anything else any day. Shayari and singing are just extension to my personality. I don’t hate those who hate me. I will win them with love.” 

With an ever-smiling face, he is someone who enjoys interacting with people. He had to back-to-back shows the day he was in Chandigarh, but he didn’t disappoint anyone who asked him for a selfie or a brief conversation. talking about his OCDMunawar had said,  “I have this OCD that my Insta feed should look a particular way.  I have to have things in sync. I also note the time when I come up with an idea, joke or a shayari.” Munawar, who was in Chandigarh for the Chandigarh Comedy Festival recently, was supposed to do a show on November 27 as well. 

When contacted Dhruv Bakshi, manager of The Laugh Club, Chandigarh, organiser of the event, he confirmed, “Due to the ongoing cancel culture on his shows, Munawar is not visiting the city. But I am sure he will be back! I choose not to trust his post. That could be one weak moment, but he is so much more than that. I don’t think Munawar can live without comedy.”