The Shiva Sena can be a very vindictive adversary. The comedian in Kunal Kamra should get serious. News is that Kamra skipped across to the Madras High Court for anticipatory bail from the FIRs lodged against him in Maharashtra. Kamra had sworn not to turn tail, but he ran.

Then again, the Madras High Court is not Allahabad High Court with a Bar Association which says the high court in Prayagraj isn't a "trash-bin" for cast-aside judges in disguise!

The Supreme Court in the Imran Pratapgarhi case has said that satire is okay and can't be punished; anything said and sung to protect the citizen's fundamental right to speech and expression is a legitimate figure of speech, which is a nice and roundabout way to say anything goes in the name of satire and wit.

And songs playing on the lips and those played in the background aren't bad for the ear. If a comic sings a song alluding to a sitting Deputy Chief Minister with thick hints thrown in for humour’s sake, neither the Deputy Chief Minister nor should his party's rank and file get their knickers in a twist!

A joke is a joke is a joke... is the message for those who went to court with grudges against Pratapgarhi and Kamra. In the latter’s case, it wasn't even a joke, it was just another song anybody could lip-sync, you know karaoke and there was no proof to butt the song on the Congress Rajya Sabha MP!

Kunal Kamra must have learned late about the Supreme Court’s ruling. But, now that he is aware, he need not proceed with care. Knocking on the Madras High Court door has its own advantages. And Imran Pratapgarhi is a great politician to follow. Some fellow in Gujarat challenged Pratapgarhi's right to freedom of speech and expression and paid for it in trouble.

Pratapgarhi is no comedian and the joke is on the Gujarati complainant, who is neither the Gujarati Prime Minister nor the Gujarati Union Home Minister. Imran Pratapgarhi is blessed; must be because it's 'Ramzan' or because it was also 'Friday', there's ‘mucha’ symbolism in the Supreme Court ruling.

Who was it who first said the Almighty works in mysterious ways? Kunal Kamra, are you listening? If not hearing aids are the latest fashion statements, watch TV for confirmation. And if 'tinnitus' is an extension, don't waste time!

Kunal Kamra should for once in his funny pursuits sit up and scare the living daylights out of all those casting the bad eye on him for calling a "gaddar a gaddar." If Kamra is serious about his career, he should start cracking self-deprecating jokes.

Kunal is almost always dressed in dark shades of grey, which he thinks sets him apart from the ordinary biped, his colourful and humourous talk notwithstanding. The Madras High Court is a good choice for “transit anticipatory bail”.

For one, it is not Allahabad High Court. The Allahabad High Court Bar Association didn't want the Allahabad High Court turned into a trash-bin. Kamra is neither trash nor the Madras High Court a bin. And Kamra cannot be called 'traitor' for choosing Madras High Court over the Bombay High Court.

There is only one 'traitor' in Maharashtra and Mumbai, said Kamra. The parody of the Bollywood film song will cost him in skin if he sets foot in Mumbai is a promise. Shiva Sena (Shinde) activists do not always care for the law of the land and have sworn to give the 'prasad' Kunal so laughingly sought from the stage of the now trashed 'Habitat Comedy Club'.

The Shiva Sena activist is like the fellow who took the 'knife' to Salman Rushdie on the US-stage, in relentless pursuit. From henceforth, Kamra will need a pair of eyes on the back of his head. Rushdie lost one eye to the assailant. How will Kunal Kamra look in a 'Pirates of the Caribbean' eye-patch?

The Supreme Court ruling cannot be taken amiss. At the end of the day, the top court said 'Khoon ke pyase baat suno' was only a song and there was no need to make a song and dance about it! Satire and “freedom of speech and expression” are legit pursuits. Even Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray asked, “What is wrong with calling a “gaddar a gaddar”; what’s the big deal, it keeps happening in Sena land!

Kunal Kamra knowingly insulted the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. His 'Sena' should now take it lying down. The case against Kamra is not 'blasphemy' and neither is Kunal Kamra a tailor! The Shinde Sena should keep their 'prasad' to yourselves and let sleeping dogs lie. The Maharashtra minister who wants Kamra's head on a platter is funnier than Kunal Kamra!

Besides, isn't Shinde Sena part of Mahayuti government? What's Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis doing, can't his police do their job, haul Kamra out of his hiding for the promised hiding? At least the multiple FIRs shouldn't go to waste.

That being said, it must have shaken the Maharashtra government and the Shiva Sena (Shinde) to learn that Kunal Kamra is a permanent "resident" of 'Villupuram town” in Tamil Nadu which makes the Madras High Court the go-to court. And now that the Supreme Court has spoken its mind on "satirical comedy", Madras would most likely put an end to this comedy of errors.

Satire "is the art of making someone or something look ridiculous and raising laughter in order to embarrass, humble or discredit." The Supreme Court has now put its seal of approval on using humour, irony, exaggeration to ridicule, criticise and expose anybody for his/her stupidity and vices. But don't take that as license to make fun of judges with burnt fingers and burnt cash. That would be another altogether different grade of satire, nothing to laugh about. (IPA Service)