AIB’s controversies: From ‘obscene’ Roast, ‘mocking’ Lata, Sachin to PM Modi meme

In May 2016, Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar ordered an inquiry against AIB’s standup comedian Tanmay Bhat after BJP leader Ashish Shelar accused him of mocking and insulting cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and singer Lata Mangeshkar in a video on Facebook.

While the Mumbai cyber police on Friday filed an FIR against All India Bakchod (AIB) for insulting the PM, the group is no stranger to controversy.

The group got into trouble previously when they were booked on obscenity charges over the Roast in February 2015.(File)

In May 2016, Mumbai police commissioner Datta Padsalgikar ordered an inquiry against AIB’s standup comedian Tanmay Bhat after BJP leader Ashish Shelar accused him of mocking and insulting cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar and legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar in a video on Facebook.

Bhat, in a video, transposed his face with that of the two personalities and played out a fictional conversation between them.

Imitating Lata Mangeshkar in the video, Bhat says that cricketer Virat Kohli is better than Tendulkar. To this, the comedian -- now playing Tendulkar -- tells the singer, “You are 5,000 years old...”

However this was not their first brush with law.

They got into trouble previously when they were booked on obscenity charges over the Roast in February 2015.

The Mumbai police registered an FIR at Tardeo police station against 14 people, including the president of the National Sports Club of India (NSCI) Jayantilal Shah, NSCI general secretary Ravinder Aggarwal (the event was held at NSCI), organisers of the roast, and Johar, Kapoor, Singh, Padukone, AIB members - Rohan Joshi, Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba, Ashish Shakya - Aditi Mittal, actor Alia Bhatt and Rajeev Masand.

The event was held at Worli and its video was put up online a month later. It ran into controversy after social activist Santosh Daundkar approached a city court in February 2015, calling the content “vulgar”. The court ordered the police to register an FIR and submit an investigation report.