Kunal Kamra's video gets copyright strike on YouTube, he blames T-Series

In a social media post, Kunal Kamra defended his work as legally protected under fair use, emphasising that parody and satire should not be silenced

Comedian Kunal Kamra on Wednesday accused music label T-Series of sending a copyright strike on his latest stand-up on YouTube. The 45-minute-long video, uploaded on March 23, is at the centre of a controversy over Kamra's alleged 'derogatory remarks' against Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

 

In a social media post, Kamra defended his work as legally protected under fair use, emphasising that parody and satire should not be silenced.

 

"Hello @TSeries, stop being a stooge. Parody & Satire comes under fair use legally. I haven’t used the lyrics or the original instrumental of the song (sic)," Kamra wrote on X.

 

Raising concerns about broader implications for content creators, he warned that such actions could set a dangerous precedent.

 

"If you take this video down, every cover song/dance video can be taken down. Creators, please take a note of it," he said.

 

"Having said that, every monopoly in India is nothing short of Mafia, so please watch/download this special before it’s taken down," he added.

     

 

  Due to the copyright strike, the visibility of the video was blocked.  In the video, Kunal Kamra used songs from Dil Toh Pagal Hai and other films—some of which have music rights owned by T-Series—to satirise Shinde and other ruling party politicians.

 

After the video was published, outraged Shiv Sena workers stormed The Habitat studio in Mumbai, where the stand-up happened. 

However, Kamra refused to apologise for his remarks, stating his fundamental right to free speech. "As far as I know, it is not against the law to poke fun at our leaders and the circus that is our political system," he said.

 

Responding to Kamra’s remarks, Eknath Shinde said it felt like "taking a 'supari' [contract] to speak against someone."

 

"Freedom of speech is there, and we understand satire, but there should be a limit," Shinde said.