Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker caught up with comedian Kunal Kamra on Tuesday and took to her social media to share a photo with him. And while at it, she also took a dig at the viral phone call made to Kamra by a Shiv Sena worker after a controversy erupted over the comedian's joke on Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Swara took to her Instagram handle to share a couple of photos, in which both of them could be seen twinning in white t-shirts. In one of the photos, they can also be seen laughing their hearts out. She captioned the post: "Someone once asked… “TamilNadu kaisey pahunchega bhai?” Featuring one and only @kuna_kamra (sic)."
She geo-tagged the post in Tamil Nadu.
What was the Kunal Kamra-Eknath Shinde controversy?
For those unversed, back in April this year, Kamra performed a standup set titled Naya Bharat, in Mumbai, in which he took a dig at Maharashtra's political situation. He seemingly also called the state's deputy chief minister, Eknath Shinde, a traitor in his satirical song, which caused a massive uproar in the state against the comedian.
However, Kamra refused to apologise, stating, "What I said is exactly what Mr Ajit Pawar (1st Deputy CM) said about Mr Eknath Shinde (2nd Deputy CM). I don't fear this mob, and I will not be hiding under my bed, waiting for this to die down."
Subsequently, multiple cases were filed against Kamra in the city, but the Madras High Court gave him interim protection from arrest.
What was the viral phone call?
Amid the controversy, a call recording went viral in which a member of Shinde's Shiv Sena purportedly threatened the comedian with dire consequences for his remarks.
The party worker was heard abusing Kamra and threatening to harm him, and that is when the comedian dared him to visit Tamil Nadu. But to that, the party worker was heard responding, "Abhi Tamil Nadu kaise pahunchega bhai," and this led to a memefest online.
