Over the past few days, Kapil Sharma has been the target of harsh criticism for allegedly making a joke about the appearance of filmmaker Atlee on his comedy show, The Great Indian Kapil Show. The comedian is also not in the right frame of mind. Before drawing conclusions, he has asked viewers to watch the entire show.
The remark
Alongside Baby John actors Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi, Atlee was spotted on Saturday’s edition of The Great Indian Kapil Show. “When you get to meet a star for the first time, do they ask, where is Atlee?” is what Kapil is seen asking Atlee in one of the segments.
Atlee replied to Kapil, “I kind of got what you were asking. I will attempt to respond. My first film was produced by AR Murugadoss, sir, for which I am truly grateful. He requested a script, but he didn’t notice my appearance or my level of ability. He enjoyed my narration, though. I believe that should be seen by everyone. Appearance should not be our criterion. You must judge by your emotions.
Many social media users found this insulting and labelled it a racist remark, which did not sit well with them.
Kapil responds:
In response to the escalating controversy, Kapil resorted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Tuesday. He re-posted a tweet that said, “Kapil Sharma subtly insults Atlee’s looks?,” in response to the commotion. Judge by the heart, not the appearance, is Atlee’s bossy response. A snippet of the pair’s web show talk was included in the post.
“Dear sir, could you please explain where I talked about looks in this video?” was Kapil’s response. Please refrain from using the folded hand emoji to spread hate on social media. Thank you. (Guys, don’t follow people’s tweets like sheep; instead, watch and make your own decisions).
Kapil has responded to the criticism he has been receiving for the joke for the first time.
What the fans had to say:
Since the episode’s Saturday Netflix release, social media has been split, with many people voicing dissatisfaction with the humour.
Perhaps that wasn’t his objective, but he need to have phrased the question much more effectively. One user said, “Kapil Sharma may be a nice person otherwise, but he makes racist/sexist/body shaming/homophobic jokes all the time on his show.” Another user added, “But overall he is a champion of body shaming so not surprising at all.” His foolish query to Atlee is a reflection of North Indians’ fixation with fair skin.
