Kunal Kamra asks BookMyShow to share audience info after being delisted

BookMyShow, run by Bigtree Entertainment Private Limited, took down Kamra's content after a controversy over his parody song mocking Maharashtra Deputy CM and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has written an open letter to BookMyShow, asking the ticketing platform to share contact details of people who attended his shows. This comes just days after the company removed his content and took his name off its list of artists.

 

Posting the letter on X (formerly Twitter), Kamra said he understands why BookMyShow needs to stay on good terms with the government. “I know that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment,” he wrote. “Without the state’s cooperation, iconic shows like Coldplay and Guns N’ Roses wouldn’t be possible.”

 

However, Kamra pointed out that the issue isn’t just about being removed from the platform. “By not allowing artists to list their shows through their own websites, you have effectively prevented me from accessing the audience I have performed for from 2017 to 2025,” he said.

 

BookMyShow, run by Bigtree Entertainment Private Limited, took down Kamra’s content after a controversy over his parody song mocking Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde. In a recent performance at Mumbai’s Habitat studio, Kamra sang a version of the song ‘Bholi Si Surat’, calling Shinde a “gaddar” (traitor).

 

Shinde had led a rebellion in 2022 that split the Shiv Sena and led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government. Thackeray and his supporters have often used the term “gaddar” for him.

 

Angered by Kamra’s act, Shinde’s supporters reportedly vandalised the Habitat studio in Khar, which later shut down. The next day, parts of the venue were demolished by civic authorities, citing building violations. Many believe the action was linked to the controversy. Kamra now faces several legal cases and has been granted interim protection from arrest by the Madras High Court after skipping three police summons.

 

In his letter, Kamra also highlighted the financial burden on comedians. “You take a 10 per cent cut of the revenue for listing shows, which is your business model… we are all compelled to spend between 6,000 to 10,000 rupees a day on advertising to reach our own audience,” he wrote.

 

He urged the platform to either reinstate him or hand over the audience data from his solo shows. “Please ensure that you hand over the contact information of the audiences you've collected from my solo shows so that I can continue living my life with dignity and work towards a fair livelihood,” he said. “The least I deserve, should you choose to delist me, is access to them.”

 

Kamra added that while the platform may cite data privacy concerns, “the question of who protects what data, and from whom, is a much broader conversation.”

 

Meanwhile, Sena leader Rahool Kanal, who had earlier asked BookMyShow to stop promoting Kamra, thanked the platform for removing him. “Thank you for keeping your portal clean… because we all being Mumbaikars love and believe in every form of art but not personal agendas,” he said.