Telugu comedian Hyper Aadhi has landed in legal soup for allegedly mocking orphan children on the popular comedy show Jabardasth on ETV Telugu.
In a recent comedy sketch, Aadhi had modified a famous dialogue from the Rajinikanth-starrer Narasimha to say, “Athiga aasha pade magavaadiki, athiga aavesha pade aadadhiki puttina santhaname: Anadhalu (Orphans are born from an angry woman and a greedy man)”.
After the episode was telecast on November 24, a group of orphan children from the Maa Illu Prajadharana Home, along with several activist organisations filed a police complaint against the comedian and three others – the show’s host Anasuya, and actor Naga Babu and YSRCP MLA Roja, who appear as judges on the show. A complaint was also lodged with the State Human Rights Commission asking that action be taken against the show for airing discriminatory content.
Speaking to TNM Pujitha, the complainant on whose behalf the complaint was filed, said, “The comments made against us were hurtful. He has insulted our parents too. What does he (Aadhi) know about our parents?”
She further said, “In reply to our objections, he (Aadhi) is justifying his comments saying that he was talking only about a few people.”
K Sajaya, a child rights activist from the Caring Citizens Collective called the dialogue against orphan children deplorable and condemnable. “How could one make such derogatory comments against orphan children, who are among the most vulnerable groups in the society, and what is so funny about it?” asked Sajaya.
She also lashed out at the show for regularly indulging in body shaming and for resorting to crass jokes regarding minorities such as transgender persons.
“These people are so insensitive. How can they laugh at and enjoy themselves over demeaning comments made on a person’s appearance?” she asked.
In particular, she said,YSRCP MLA Roja should publicly apologize for being part of such a show.
“Irrespective of which party Roja belongs to, she should apologise for being party of such shows, which are also extremely offensive and indifferent towards the transgender community. How can a public representative be part of such shows? As a responsible person, she should avoid being part of such shows,” Sajaya rued.
Stating that the complainants are also planning to approach the High Court, Sajaya said that one of their demands is for the show to be shifted to a late night time slot. “The show should be shifted from its regular time, which allows even kids to watch it. The content of the show is full of crass dialogues and comedy. We will approach the appropriate authorities in this regard,” she said.
Film critic Mahesh Kathi also slammed the show for its discriminatory content and for promoting body shaming as comedy.
Mahesh, who has been trolled by Pawan Kalyan fans for criticising the actor-politician’s movies and his political skills, has himself allegedly been subjected to body shaming on the show. In one of the episodes, Aadhi, who is a self-proclaimed Pawan Kalyan fan, allegedly trolled him in a parody sketch for being bald and obese. This had led to a huge verbal war between Aadhi and Mahesh.
Saifabad Station House Officer, S Venkat Reddy told TNM that the complaint against Aadhi has been received, but a case is yet to be filed. “We are yet to view the content of the show. Only after verifying the content, we will take an action,” Reddy said.