Shekhar Suman has dismissed speculation that the Enforcement Directorate’s raids on producer Dharmesh Sangani had anything to do with the political jokes on his YouTube show, Shekhar Tonite .
The speculation came at a time when the actor-host’s monologues criticising the government, including one in which he mocked a “tanashaah” (dictator), were drawing attention online. But Shekhar said he saw no reason to link the two, insisting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not be rattled by satire on a comedy show.
Shekhar Suman says BJP leaders have praised his show
He also looked back at his late-night show Movers & Shakers, which began in 1997 under a BJP government and returned in 2012 when the Congress-led government was in power. In an interview with The Lallantop, he explained this through the example of a class monitor who must be held accountable when things go wrong. Instead, he claimed, several BJP politicians had reached out to appreciate the show. He also questioned why the Prime Minister would be concerned about a YouTube programme when there were far bigger issues demanding his attention. The actor recalled how some people had predicted that the show would not make it past its first episode. “I don’t think PM Modi is so weak that his government would call me up for such a small show. He’s a very powerful being. Who’d stop it? PM Modi? So, we took a cue from there. I’m presuming he has a sense of humour, and he wouldn’t take it so seriously. It’s part of democracy, and part of my profession. What we’re saying is in the framework of entertainment and satire. So there’s no reason for the government to worry. My show isn’t that important. The ED’s searches were conducted at Kalanee Impex Pvt Ltd, where Dharmesh is a director, as part of an investigation into alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA). The agency claimed to have found undisclosed foreign bank accounts, shareholding in a Canadian company and export proceeds worth crores that had allegedly not been realised. Officials also alleged that Dharmesh threw his mobile phone from the 13th floor of a building during the searches. The ED filed a complaint with the Mumbai Police over the alleged destruction of evidence.
Shekhar Suman has repeatedly said that Shekhar Tonite is not an anti-BJP show. Shekhar also said he had not received threatening calls over his monologues. There are a lot of other things happening around the globe which warrant his attention far more,” Suman said. He added a line inspired by poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz: ‘Aur bhi gham hain zamane mein Shekhar Tonite ke siwa’,” before adding, “Why? He himself has said it multiple times that he likes to be critiqued. Dharmesh is also a co-founder of the Shekhar Suman Film Academy, according to officials.
“If the class monitor lapses, the students would panic and hold him accountable, right? It doesn’t matter who the monitor is. We don’t comment on any person or any government, but on the system at large. If you’ve elected someone to lead the system, if they go astray, you point it out to them. That’s why it’s not anti-anyone, but pro-people. We’re just representing people and amplifying their voices. However, he believes that respect for political leaders does not mean staying silent when something goes wrong.
The actor said he respects Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi equally.
Like we used to take digs at PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee earlier, we’d take digs at PM Manmohan Singh. We’ll do that tomorrow as well, when someone else is in power,” he said in the interview.
