28th January. We had one agenda.

We spent our evening glued to our laptops. Offended. Disgusted. Amused. We

watched the AIB Knockout right to the finish. Some of us, twice. This roast was the
talk of the town.
Over the last week, social media has been flooded with an outrage on the negative
feedback that the AIB Roast received. Rants on how the views of our politicians are
regressive. How everyone just needs to chill. How it is a clear violation of our
freedom of speech.

Now, I like to believe that Im a liberal person, with liberal views and outlooks. My
issues with the roast have nothing to do with it not in line with Indian culture.
However, I disagree with the outcry on how the roast was completely harmless. I
believe that there are real, negative impacts that this roast could have on the
masses. And that many of us are conveniently choosing not to see them.

I sense eyes rolling already.

I would be lying if I said I wasnt nervous about how this post is going to be
received. Especially since now, this roast has become a battle between young,
liberal vs lame, old, regressive.
So, at the risk of being categorised among the likes of the fossilised politician who
declared the roast a Bad Product, I have to say that while it is indeed, liberating
that the roast touched societal taboos like casual sex and drug use with candid
indifference. The show also involved content that I believe could be unhealthy for
the masses.

Now before I begin, Id like to say that I dont have a solution. Only a point of view. I
am not implying that the roast should never have gone live. Or that it should be
censored. Or that those who filed complaints against AIB were right in doing so.
But simply that we acknowledge that there are two sides to the coin.
That a lot of the jokes, though intended in good humour, could have deeper
consequences on a society that is highly diverse. And hence, fragile. That these
consequences are real.

We come from a country where actors are considered gods. Where an overwhelming
number of men from the 80s sported Amitabh Bachchans haircut in Deewar. Where
Obama flooded our home pages for saying 1/3 rd of a dialogue from a movie that
released a decade ago. I think its safe to say that Bollywood has a deep impact on
India.

But we can ofcourse, debate the influence that celebrities have on the masses. I
dont believe that celebrities talking about drug use will directly encourage people
to indulge in it. People tend to have a stronger stance on drug use. It depends
highly on their upbringing, peers and circumstances. Its unlikely that the references
they made about snorting coke backstage, will influence the masses to snort coke.
However, unlike drugs; fat jokes, homophobic jokes, jokes about ones skin type, are
a lot easier to adopt. People are likely to direct similar jokes at people more
aggressively, with a stronger sense of validation, because celebrities do it.
Tanmay Bhatt is so fat, Ashish Shakya is so black. These jokes might be
perfectly acceptable within the context of a roast when directed at consenting
individuals. But the truth is, it wont stop there.

We need to acknowledge and accept that masses dont live within the context of a
roast. That these jokes will find its way to non-consenting individuals. That they will
seep into classrooms, workplaces and homes. People will quote the same jokes,
directed at the fat boy in class. And suddenly, the fat boy has lower self-esteem,
being the only woman on the panel doesnt feel empowering anymore.

We need to remember that while those who are offended can ofcourse, choose not
to watch it, theyre still going to be surrounded by people who have. People who
now, have a stronger sense of validation in telling jokes about ones sexual
orientation, body type and skin colour.
A discussion with my peers made me realise that we tend to underestimate, or
simply not understand the impact that the media has on those from a different
social strata. On those who are not as rational or mature. While many of us can be
sure that watching the roast will not turn us into fat shaming, sexist homophobes,
because we simply know better than that, we cant ignore that there must be a
good number of viewers among the impressive 8 million views that the Knockout
received, that will think of degrading jokes as acceptable and cool.
And why not? Ranveer Singh does it. Arjun Kapoor does it. Karan Johar does it. India
loved it.

Lets stop believing that this roast is a symbol for social change. Stop glorifying it as
a rebellion by a generation that has grown up being morally policed. While it is
essential to fight for freedom of speech and expression, its important to remember
that it comes with a context. Have we considered what it is that were fighting so
relentlessly for? The right to be politically incorrect? The right to be offensive? The
right to be degrading? The use of the words liberal and progressive here, are
starting to seem more and more like an oxymoron.

Perhaps its a roast in itself that I have a problem with. I believe that roasts are a
healthy form of comedy for a very (very) niche audience. One that is rational and
mature. One that laughs, because they really just know better than that. One that
will simply enjoy 2 hours of harmless comedy before returning to their liberal,
cultured, enlightened lives.

But until then, the impact it could have on Indian society seems dark.