Indian comedian faces police probe for Snapchat jokes about celebrities
Indian comedian Tanmay Bhat is facing a police probe for a face swapping video which features a mock conversation between veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar. The Snapchat video has been criticised by several Bollywood celebrities and politicians, even making it to national news television and started an online debate on humour.
In the video called "Sachin vs. Lata Civil War", Bhat enacted an imaginary conversation between Tendulkar and Mangeshkar using the face-swap feature, with the two sparring with another. "I make such nonsense on my Snapchat. Also, I obviously love Lata and Sachin, just having some fun," he wrote on Facebook.
The video, which was uploaded on 26 May, disappeared from Bhat's Snapchat video in 24 hours. However, its Facebook version went viral, drawing the ire of several Bollywood actors and celebrities on Twitter.
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Earlier today, the regional political party Maharashtra Navnirman Sena filed a police complaint against Bhat and demanded that the video be removed immediately. In another twist, Mumbai Police said that it was in contacting with "Google, Facebook and YouTube" to block the video and "also find out the IP address".
Bhat is the co-founder and member of comedy collective All India Bakchod (AIB), which came under fire for a roast featuring Bollywood celebrities last year. On Facebook, the video has already got 343,000 views and 1,700 shares. Bhat, who was also trolled on Twitter, responded with more humour.
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Sonam Joshi was Mashable's principal correspondent in India. She has previously worked for The Times of India group and Time Out Delhi, and written for The Caravan, Mint Lounge and Yahoo Originals.
