How did the issue that started with ₹370 biryani become such a big uproar across the country? Who is Himanshu Jangra and why did social media get angry over one of his words? Why were questions raised on Praneet More? Why did Mumbai Police have to post #BiryaniIsNotConsent? Did Himanshu really lose his job? And why did Praneet close Instagram after apologizing?
Standup and roast comedian Praneet More, who was seen as a contestant in ‘Bigg Boss 19’, is in controversies these days. Something like this happened in his recent standup show, after which there was an uproar on social media. Not only common internet users, but many actresses associated with film and TV have reacted strongly on this matter and reprimanded Praneet More. Not only this, Mumbai Police’s statement and Praneet More’s apology are also in the news. #370Biryani is trending on the internet. Know what is the whole matter…
‘370 rupees’ biryani controversy of Praneet More’s show
The controversy started during a live stand-up show of Praneet More, where he was interacting with the audience during his famous “crowd work” segment. During this time, he asked a person named Himanshu Jangra sitting in the audience about his dating life. He told that he had recently gone on a date with a girl and he had bought chicken biryani worth about Rs 370 for her. After this, Praneet More asked in a joking manner, how much was his loss? In response, Himanshu said that he spent Rs 370 on biryani but did not get anything in return.
Uproar over Himanshu Jangra’s dirty thoughts
When Praneet More asked him what he was expecting, Himanshu, a resident of Gurgaon, hinted that he had thought that after the date there would be physical relations with the girl. According to Himanshu, he first thought of taking the girl to his room and then started insisting on taking her to the dark park. The girl had hesitantly gone with him into the dark park. Some people present there started laughing at his words and the show went ahead. The video of this clip went viral on social media. After the video surfaced, a large number of people raised questions on Himanshu’s thinking. He said that feeding a woman or spending money on her does not imply a right to any physical or romantic return in return. Many people described it as objectification of women and against the concept of consent.
Praneet More was also heavily criticized
The controversy was not limited to Himanshu only. Many users on social media are also criticizing Praneet More. His allegation was that during the show the comedian carried the conversation forward as a joke instead of immediately challenging or refuting that thinking. Because of this, the debate started whether it is the responsibility of the comedian to oppose such things said on the stage.
Celebs enraged over Praneet More controversy
As the video went viral, the case became a topic of national debate. Women’s rights activists, social media influencers, film personalities and common users reacted to this. Read who said what:-
Actress Ayesha Khan wrote on social media,
The most surprising thing is that people were laughing considering such thinking as a joke. Spending money on a person does not mean that you can express any kind of expectation or entitlement in return.
Malti Chahar, who was Praneet More’s co-contestant in ‘Bigg Boss 19’, writes,
Such incidents explain why even today many women feel uneasy about relationships and marriage. The foundation of any relationship should be respect and consent, not a give-and-take mentality.
Actress Kusha Kapila’s reaction is,
Normalizing wrong attitudes towards women in the name of comedy is a matter of concern. It is important to understand the line between joke and sensitivity.
Actress Dolly Singh wrote,
It is a very wrong idea to consider some money spent on a date as a right over a woman. It is important to question this kind of mentality.
YouTuber Sakshi Shivdasani’s reaction is,
This is not just a matter of a viral clip, but an issue of thinking which considers women as part of a deal instead of looking at them as equals.
Actress Rashmi Desai wrote on her Instagram story,
This is not a comedy. This is just a normal conversation with no specific content. When people run out of new content or creativity, they start running the show only through conversation. In my view, Praneeth is neither an artist nor a comedian. Due to such incidents, the entire comedy fraternity has to face unnecessary trolling, which is harmful for the real artists. To be honest, this is injustice to the artists who have real talent. That boy also lost his job. I believe that action should be taken on Praneeth’s show also. Shame on Praneet and also on that young man from Gurugram.
YouTuber Elvish Yadav said,
The Rs 370 biryani exposed two things: A man thought consent had an MRP. And a comedian figured every uncomfortable silence could be saved with a laugh track. Biryani was made on strength, controversy was made on ego.
Mumbai Police’s reaction in Praneet More controversy
Mumbai Police’s Praneet More has given a strong message in the ₹370 biryani controversy, which is going viral. In the post, a large graphic of ₹370 was made on a white background, in which a plate of biryani was shown in place of ‘0’. Wrote with it,
You can get a plate of biryani for ₹370. But in our lockup, food is provided free and the time of stay is also longer.
The hashtag #BiryaniIsNotConsent was used at the end of the post. Mumbai Police simply wrote in the caption of the post, “The choice is yours.” Without naming anyone, the message directly pointed to consent and responsible behavior.
Praneet More gave clarification
After the controversy, Praneet More gave clarification and wrote,
I have seen the criticisms that have surfaced regarding the crowdwork clip that went viral recently. Comments made by viewers do not represent my views or beliefs. Looking back now, I realize that I should have challenged that comment, rather than just laughing at it and moving on. This was an error in judgment on my part. I am grateful to those who expressed their concerns and objections in a respectful manner. I sincerely apologize for whatever happened and will learn from this experience and move forward. I am also a human being and like everyone else, I am constantly trying to learn and improve myself.
After this Praneet More deactivated his Instagram account.
Himanshu Jangra lost his job
If reports are to be believed, the story of Himanshu Jangra about biryani worth Rs 370 has overshadowed him. He has been fired from his job by his company.