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Indian comedian deported from Dubai over ‘harmless, dumb reel’: ‘I spent 47 days in detention’
Standup comic Yash Bhardwaj has revealed that he was detained by authorities in Dubai for 47 days before eventually being deported to India last month.
Standup comic Yash Bhardwaj has revealed that he was detained by authorities in Dubai for 47 days before eventually being deported to India. The comedian shared the life update in an Instagram post last week, saying the experience left him emotionally drained.
What led to the detention?
Bhardwaj said his detention and deportation followed a lighthearted reel about Google Maps not working in Dubai due to conflict in the Middle East. Dubai had been caught in the crossfire of the war between the US and Iran.
The video, shared in March, led to Bhardwaj receiving a call from the police and his subsequent detention for 47 days.
“On March 19, while I was at a gig in Dubai, I got a call from Dubai Police asking me to report to the Dubai Police HQ immediately. Turns out they had an issue with a comedy reel I made about Google Maps malfunctioning in Dubai due to the current war in the region.
“It was a harmless, dumb reel - but the authorities did not find it funny. I was detained and arrested as a perceived national security threat, and I spent 47 days in a detention centre,” Bhardwaj said.
Deportation to India
After 47 days in police custody, Yash Bhardwaj was deported to India. He revealed last week that he had returned to India on May 5 and had been based in Mumbai ever since.
The formerly Dubai-based comic also spoke about the toll that the experience took on him and his family. Besides the physical and emotional setback he experienced, it also affected him financially.
“Returned to India on May 5. It wasn’t easy at all for me or my family - it drained us physically, emotionally, and to some extent, financially,” Bhardwaj said.
“I’m back on track now, and thankfully, so is my family. Mumbai has been kind to me, and I got back on stage much sooner than I expected,” he added.
What’s next for Yash Bhardwaj?
The comedian is planning to visit Bengaluru — the city where he first fell in love with standup comedy nearly two decades ago.
“I’m off to Bangalore for a few weeks - the city where my love for the stage actually began 16 years ago - to kick off a new chapter in my life,” he said in his Instagram post.
(Also read: 73-year-old Harjit Kaur deported to India by ICE, not allowed to meet family last time)
