Hold your horses! The boys are coming back. Fresh off their performances across India, and a recent trip to Singapore, the notorious comedians from All India Bakchod (AIB) are coming back to the Dubai on June 4 at Jumeirah Emirates Towers. They were last in the city in January.
Known for their edgy sense of humour, the four-member troupe is currently the most successful comedy group in India, having amassed millions of followers on YouTube. They’ve also earned a massive following among Bollywood stars, many of whom have starred in their videos.
Earlier this year, the group got into trouble with lawmakers in India when it organised what it called the AIB Knockout, a US-style comedic ‘roast’ of actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor, hosted by director and producer Karan Johar. The actors and AIB members were sued for “use of filthy and abusive language”, forcing the group to take down the hugely popular video, issue an apology and cancel a few of their upcoming shows. The controversy was a divisive one, and energised debates about free speech in the country.
“There’s a larger cultural conversation going on here, where we’re at the very edges of what it’s okay to say,” the group posted in a statement following the furore. “And it’s a conversation we need to have now because the world we live in is entirely too complicated to be run by silences. We still stand by our belief in the right to absolute freedom of expression for us and for anyone who has anything to say about anything at all.”
AIB have also been at the forefront of online activism, if not for free speech. In April, a hashtag it helped create, #SaveTheInternet, began trending worldwide. The hashtag originated after the group threw their comic weight behind a campaign calling for net neutrality. They were complaining against a telecom operator allowing some websites to let potential customers browse without an internet connection. Net neutrality campaigners claim this would give undue advantage to companies who can offer to pay for their customers’ data and leave smaller companies in the dust.
In 2013, AIB’s provocative sketch, Rape? It’s Your Fault, starring Bollywood star Kalki Koechlin, satirised the victim-blaming mentality in India following the high-profile 2012 Delhi gang rape. The video has amassed more than 4 million views.
Formed in 2012 by members Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat, who put out their first comedy podcast discussing current affairs, the pair quickly expanded their repertoire to interviews with well-known personalities such as director Anurag Kashyap, comedian Russell Peters, asking them politically incorrect questions.
They were later joined by Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya, before the group began doing stand-ups and live sketches. By 2013 they began to sell out shows, including their spoof of a Bollywood awards called The Royal Turds. Another comedian, Abish Mathew, is a regular collaborator.
The group’s latest video following the Knockout controversy, called Honest Indian Weddings, has already wracked up huge viewership numbers since it was released less than a week ago.
Don’t miss it
Tickets for the All India Bakchod Dubai show cost Dh250 (Silver) and Dh350 (Gold), which also includes access to the after-party where DJ Shadow will perform. Tickets to just the after-party are also available for Dh100. They go on sale at 9am on Wednesday, May 20, on platinumlist.net. Entry is restricted to those 18 years and over only.
