India-Pakistan tensions have been increased after a terror strike in Pahalgam that left 26 people dead. As a reaction to the attack, availability of social media accounts of some Pakistani celebrities was apparently blocked in India. In the midst of this tense environment, comedian Gaurav Gupta, who is on tour in the US and Canada, posted a viral video of his encounter with a Pakistani fan, which generated laughter and discourse online.
Gaurav began his global tour on May 30 with a performance in Atlanta and later performed at Chicago. In a video posted on Sunday, he can be seen chatting with a Pakistani male in one of his live shows. When he recognized the spectator in the crowd, Gaurav seemed surprised and was laughing. When some of the attendees yelled ‘Sindoor’ (a reference to Operation Sindoor), he told them to remain calm and be civil.
“Brother, you have lots of guts attending the show. He believed that artistes were prohibited, yet audience members are not banned,” Gaurav made light of it. Going on as usual, he said, “Chalo tum Hanuman Chalisa padho ab (Go on, recite the Hanuman Chalisa now),” which elicited a huge round of applause and bursts of laughter from the crowd.
When Gaurav inquired the guest what his name was and whether he got the jokes, the guest replied with a nod. Gaurav responded, “Toh tumhe samajh nahi aata, nahi milega tumhe? Itne saalon se keh rahe hain nahi milega, nahi milega, phir aa jaate ho tum (So you don’t get it? You won’t get it. We’ve been telling you for years – still, you keep coming),” a line that subtly referred to the ever-brewing Kashmir problem.
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Mixed Online Reactions
The video quickly became viral, with several users enjoying the humorous exchange. “Nahi Milega was excellent,” one fan said. Another wrote, “He was procrastinating while roasting him… but nonetheless he did it elegantly.” Others cheered the punchline: “Hanuman Chalisa sunao was the best,” whereas a fan posted, “More respect and only respect.”
Not everyone reacted so positively. A few users felt that the segment was not suitable in light of the prevailing political atmosphere. “It was not necessary! Give some respect to the fellow who came to watch your program. It’s a very sensitive topic at the moment – don’t dismiss it like this! ” a user commented.
Another wrote, “What an opportunity missed, @gaurav_comic! You could have instead actually celebrated their attendance at your program as fans and appreciators, beyond politics and government propaganda. The citizens of the two nations are just doing an honest day’s work, pursuing peace and harmony. We can’t help but agree that we have more in common than politics would have us believe.
Who is Gaurav Gupta?”
Gaurav Gupta came to the limelight for his humorous observations of Indian middle-class existence and Baniya culture’s idiosyncrasies. He became famous as a top 12 contestant in ‘The Great Indian Laughter Challenge’ in 2017, judged by Akshay Kumar. Gaurav has performed nationwide and internationally since then, with popular shows such as ‘Not Just Baniya’ and ‘Market Down Hai’.
