Comedian Pranit More and audience member Himanshu Jangra are facing criminal charges, regulatory scrutiny, and widespread public condemnation after a video from a stand-up show in Gurgaon went viral, sparking a broader national debate about boundaries in Indian comedy.
The video, filmed at More’s show, featured Jangra, 23, telling the audience he had spent Rs 370 on a biryani date and expected physical intimacy from the woman in return. Rather than challenging the remark, More laughed, validated it, and described it as “peak Gurgaon behaviour.” More then uploaded the clip to his own social media, accelerating its spread before backlash forced him to issue a public apology and deactivate his accounts. Jangra, who was employed at Starvik Design, was fired by the company and deactivated his Instagram account.
Police Cases and National Commission Action
The National Commission for Women took suo motu cognisance of the incident on June 11. NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar wrote to the Haryana Director General of Police the same day, seeking an Action Taken Report within seven days. The commission formally summoned both More and Jangra for a hearing scheduled for June 22 at 4 pm, stating that “any attempt to portray sexual coercion, entitlement, or disrespect towards a woman’s autonomy as humour is unacceptable.”
Gurgaon Police registered a criminal FIR against More and Jangra at the DLF Phase 2 Police Station. The charges include publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form, distribution and circulation of digital content, statements conducing to public mischief, and sexual harassment by making sexually coloured remarks. According to a police spokesperson, “legal notices have been issued to them to join the investigation.” Police also formally requested social media platforms to remove the video.
On the same day, Maharashtra Cyber Police filed a separate suo motu FIR against More after discovering the video while scanning the internet for inappropriate content. Officers recorded statements from More and MBBS student Sejal Pawar, who was also connected to the case, and summoned both to appear again the following week. Investigators said they were also reviewing videos from More’s earlier shows for similar material. Police were unable to serve summons to Jangra because his mobile phone was switched off.
KEM hospital, separately, conducted an inquiry into Pawar’s involvement and placed her on 15 days of forced leave, barring her from entering the campus during that period.
Comedian Peers Divided on Response
The controversy drew reactions from within the comedy world. Munawar Faruqui initially referenced the incident indirectly on social media, calling it the “costliest biryani” and suggesting comedians should have attorneys review their videos before posting. He also said “the comedian said something very wrong, and what happened during the crowd-work segment was also deeply problematic.” However, Faruqui later posted an Instagram Story urging the public to stop trolling More, warning “by the time someone loses their life, people will finally realise they went too far.”
Television actor Tanya Mittal, a fellow Bigg Boss 19 contestant of More’s, defended him in an interview with Fever FM. She acknowledged wrongdoing but argued the public response had become disproportionate. “A mistake was made, FIRs were filed against him, and he was subjected to intense public backlash,” she said, adding that his family was being affected.
A Wider Reckoning for Stand-Up Comedy
The Pranit More controversy did not emerge in isolation. A separate clip from comedian Madhur Virli’s 2024 show “Love and Latex,” featuring a joke about rape victims being murdered, also went viral around the same time. Virli issued a public apology via a YouTube community post, saying the clip was from a performance approximately two years ago and that he had already removed it after concluding it was wrong. “Certain topics require sensitivity, context, and informed discretion,” he wrote, adding, “I am genuinely sorry.” He also noted he had deactivated his Instagram account roughly six months before the clip resurfaced.
Both incidents are part of a growing national conversation about the limits of stand-up content in India, a debate that was also ignited earlier by controversial remarks made by Ranveer Allahabadia and Samay Raina on the show India’s Got Latent.