Hyderabad: Stand-up comedian Anudeep Katikala, who has been under attack from fans of Telugu actor Pawan Kalyan, was picked up by the Andhra Pradesh police on Tuesday, April 14, from Allahabad (now Prayagraj). The development comes after a First Information Report (FIR) was filed against him on April 11 after a complaint was lodged with the Kakinada police by a Jana Sena Party (JSP) which is headed by Kalyan, who is also currently the Deputy Chief Minister of AP.
According to one of Anudeep’s family member, the comic was walking with his father in the evening when a couple of cops from AP turned up to take him into custody. The stand-up comedian is based in Hyderabad and his father works in the central government and is currently posted in Prayagraj and live there.
The case was registered against him in spite of Anudeep issuing an apology after fans of Pawan Kalyan were outraged over his joke. According to the FIR, the complaint was lodged by a JSP member named Bade Venkata Krishna.
What he said
Anudeep (30) landed in trouble when in a joke he called Tollywood actor Ram Charan a “feminist” for appearing secure about his life even as his his wife Upasana is wealthier than him. Similarly, he then went on to joke further that people should learn from AP Dy CM Pawan Kalyan to divorce (as he has been divorced more than once).
Anudeep said that people can learn from Kalyan as he has not faced accusations of abuse from his two ex-partners. The videos were posted on Youtube after which he began facing violent threats from Tollywood fans the jokes. Ram Charan is the son of Tollywood star Chiranjeevi, while and Pawan Kalyan is his younger brother.
‘Anudeep had already apologised’
Speaking to The News Minute, Anudeep on April 12 said that he was just trying to normalise feminism and divorce through. “The video includes a joke on Jr NTR, who I am a fan of,” he told TNM.
“He had already apologised. The AP police had tracked him via his phone number. Because his father is a government official, the local police was informed and they gave us details of the FIR. The superintendent of Kakinada said that the AP police is just following protocol and that he has to be physically present for the case. He is in custody right now, and they have not yet booked tickets to go back to AP,” the family member told Siasat.com.
According to the FIR, Anudeep has been booked under Section 356(2), 353(2), 79 of the BMC BMS and 67 of IT Act.
The case against him comes at a time when stand-up comedians have been coming under attack from politicians for their jokes. Noted stand-up Kunal Kamra appeared before a committee of the Maharashtra legislature and stated that he did not feel any remorse over his remarks targeting Maharashtra deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, nor would he tender an apology.
He later shared on social media that he stood by his statements and would not tender an “insincere” apology. A committee was constituted to examine the complaint against Kamra after a breach of privilege notice was issued against him.
