What good will a police complaint do: Comic after TDP men disrupted Bengaluru show
Party distances itself from men who disrupted April 25 show by artiste Uday Sarat; police say organisers not keen to file a complaint
In a fresh incident of a stand-up comedian from Andhra Pradesh facing the heat, artiste Uday Sarat’s show in Bengaluru’s Koramangala was disrupted on April 25 by TDP supporters. Two days after the incident, Sarat spoke to the Indian Express, saying that, “My show was not about any political jokes.”
Sarat said he has not lodged a complaint with the police because “it will not serve any purpose”, and added that the show was simply full of jokes panning across his “life experiences”. As the video of the disruption went viral, the TDP distanced itself from those who targeted Sarat.
“People now think that it is normal to get into a fight or disrupt a stand-up comedian while they are in the middle of their set. People heckle and even threaten. And all this is normalised,” Sarat said. He said that his jokes are “well researched” and “true to the craft” and are not intended to hurt anyone.
On April 25, Sarat’s stand-up comedy show, “Not Innocent Telugu Intodu”, was held in an indoor auditorium in Bengaluru’s Koramangala, around 7 pm.
While the show began, a man from the audience stood up and said that he was his fan, but claimed that Sarat had insulted his leader, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu. Immediately, two others joined in and asked Sarat to apologise for “ridiculing the Naxalites’ attempt to kill Chandrababu Naidu”. In the video, a person who first stood up and walked to the dias can be heard saying, “I am your fan, you do comedy very well, but in one show, you insulted our leader.”
While Sarat tried to explain that he had made this joke in 2024 and had apologised then, one said, “If you make such a mistake again, mark my words, we will not leave you.”
The unknown persons continued to demand a fresh apology, to which he obliged. Sarat is also seen asking the technical team whether the incident was being recorded. The local police were eventually informed, and by the time they turned up, the men who had interrupted the show had left. Before leaving, they demanded a refund for the tickets and threw a couple of empty chairs.
The Koramangala police on Monday said they came to know about the incident that day itself, but added that the organisers and the artist did not show any interest in filing a complaint. “After the videos started doing the rounds, we approached the organisers and Sarat. They do not want to file a complaint. We have asked the organisers to visit the police station,” a police officer said.
The Telugu Desam Party distanced itself from the row by condemning the incident and calling it “unacceptable and inconsistent with democratic conduct”.
In a statement, state president Palla Srinivasa Rao said that objections to any form of expression must be addressed strictly through due process. “In a democracy, dissent must operate within the framework of law. Taking matters into one’s own hands is unacceptable,” Srinivasa Rao said.
Rao warned that such actions “distract from substantive issues and risk sending the wrong signal to society”. Rao urged party cadre to maintain discipline and avoid confrontational behaviour, emphasising that restraint is essential to preserving institutional credibility.
At the same time, the party expressed concern over what it termed a pattern among some stand-up performers of targeting political figures for visibility. “Comedy is meant to entertain, not provoke discord or undermine social harmony,” Rao said. The statement added that deliberate attempts to disparage political leaders for attention reflect a lack of accountability and can aggravate tensions in the public sphere.
The Sarat episode is the latest in a series of actions taken against stand-up comedians. Earlier, in April, Anudeep Katikala and Rafiq Muhammad – two stand-up comedians – were arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police for their jokes centred around the state’s deputy chief minister and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan. Katikala’s joke was about Kalyan and his nephew Ram Charan, actor Chiranjeevi’s son. Chiranjeevi is Kalyan’s elder brother. Muhammed joked about Pawan Kalyan alone.
Both the artistes were arrested based on complaints by the Jana Sena Party (JSP) of Pawan Kalyan, which is a National Democratic Alliance partner in Andhra Pradesh and the Lok Sabha.
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In a fresh incident of a stand-up comedian from Andhra Pradesh facing the heat, artiste Uday Sarat’s show in Bengaluru’s Koramangala was disrupted on April 25 by TDP supporters. Two days after the incident, Sarat spoke to the Indian Express, saying that, “My show was not about any political jokes.”
Sarat said he has not lodged a complaint with the police because “it will not serve any purpose”, and added that the show was simply full of jokes panning across his “life experiences”. As the video of the disruption went viral, the TDP distanced itself from those who targeted Sarat.
“People now think that it is normal to get into a fight or disrupt a stand-up comedian while they are in the middle of their set. People heckle and even threaten. And all this is normalised,” Sarat said. He said that his jokes are “well researched” and “true to the craft” and are not intended to hurt anyone.
On April 25, Sarat’s stand-up comedy show, “Not Innocent Telugu Intodu”, was held in an indoor auditorium in Bengaluru’s Koramangala, around 7 pm.
While the show began, a man from the audience stood up and said that he was his fan, but claimed that Sarat had insulted his leader, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and TDP supremo Chandrababu Naidu. Immediately, two others joined in and asked Sarat to apologise for “ridiculing the Naxalites’ attempt to kill Chandrababu Naidu”. In the video, a person who first stood up and walked to the dias can be heard saying, “I am your fan, you do comedy very well, but in one show, you insulted our leader.”
While Sarat tried to explain that he had made this joke in 2024 and had apologised then, one said, “If you make such a mistake again, mark my words, we will not leave you.”
The unknown persons continued to demand a fresh apology, to which he obliged. Sarat is also seen asking the technical team whether the incident was being recorded. The local police were eventually informed, and by the time they turned up, the men who had interrupted the show had left. Before leaving, they demanded a refund for the tickets and threw a couple of empty chairs.
The Koramangala police on Monday said they came to know about the incident that day itself, but added that the organisers and the artist did not show any interest in filing a complaint. “After the videos started doing the rounds, we approached the organisers and Sarat. They do not want to file a complaint. We have asked the organisers to visit the police station,” a police officer said.
The Telugu Desam Party distanced itself from the row by condemning the incident and calling it “unacceptable and inconsistent with democratic conduct”.
In a statement, state president Palla Srinivasa Rao said that objections to any form of expression must be addressed strictly through due process. “In a democracy, dissent must operate within the framework of law. Taking matters into one’s own hands is unacceptable,” Srinivasa Rao said.
Rao warned that such actions “distract from substantive issues and risk sending the wrong signal to society”. Rao urged party cadre to maintain discipline and avoid confrontational behaviour, emphasising that restraint is essential to preserving institutional credibility.
At the same time, the party expressed concern over what it termed a pattern among some stand-up performers of targeting political figures for visibility. “Comedy is meant to entertain, not provoke discord or undermine social harmony,” Rao said. The statement added that deliberate attempts to disparage political leaders for attention reflect a lack of accountability and can aggravate tensions in the public sphere.
The Sarat episode is the latest in a series of actions taken against stand-up comedians. Earlier, in April, Anudeep Katikala and Rafiq Muhammad – two stand-up comedians – were arrested by the Andhra Pradesh police for their jokes centred around the state’s deputy chief minister and actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan. Katikala’s joke was about Kalyan and his nephew Ram Charan, actor Chiranjeevi’s son. Chiranjeevi is Kalyan’s elder brother. Muhammed joked about Pawan Kalyan alone.
Both the artistes were arrested based on complaints by the Jana Sena Party (JSP) of Pawan Kalyan, which is a National Democratic Alliance partner in Andhra Pradesh and the Lok Sabha.
