Kunal Kamra

Kunal Kamra (born 3 October 1988) is an Indian standup comedian and political satirist which has repeatedly drawn legal action and public backlash. His performances are known to have elements of observational comedy.

Early life and education Kamra was born and brought up in Mumbai. He's of Sindhi background. He attended Jai Hind College for a degree in Commerce. He dropped out in his second year to start working as a production assistant in Prasoon Pandey's ad film production house Corcoise Films, where he worked for eleven years.

Career He started performing as a stand-up comedian in 2013, with a show at the Canvas Laugh Club in Mumbai. A clip of one of his shows, uploaded on YouTube in 2017, led to him receiving death threats for his satirical take on Indian hyper-nationalism. His performances include jokes about cabbies, bachelor life and ridiculous TV advertisements.

On 1 March 2017, he released a comedy video titled "Patriotism and the Government" on YouTube mocking the Indian banknote demonetization, the government and the attitude of Indians towards the army. In 2018, he shared that he was asked by his landlady to vacate the premise due to "political issues".

Shut Up Ya Kunal In 2017, Kunal launched a YouTube podcast titled Shut Up Ya Kunal along with his friend Ramit Verma. The show features Kamra engaged in an informal discussion with politicians and activists from both ends of the spectrum. The videos are interspersed with news clips of the guests contradicting their own statements to comic effect. The first episode aired on 20 July 2017 and featured Madhukeshwar Desai, the vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Party's youth wing.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) sought action against Kamra, stating that the edited video used a minor for political purposes, and requested Twitter to remove the post. The commission later summoned a Twitter India official after stating that no action-taken report had been submitted regarding its request. Incident on IndiGo flight On 28 January 2020, Kamra, while travelling on an IndiGo flight, confronted the news presenter Arnab Goswami, inviting him to debate with him. Kamra had raised questions about Goswami's coverage of issues on national affairs and the suicide of Rohith Vemula. The next day, Indigo banned Kamra from boarding its flights for a period of six months. The next day, SpiceJet and GoAir also banned him indefinitely. The ban was criticized for being excessive and against the rules of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap refused to fly with IndiGo due to their decision to ban Kamra. Two IndiGo passengers also protested and displayed placards on a plane in support of Kamra.

Kamra issued a legal notice to IndiGo against the travel ban demanding a compensation of .

On 11 September 2022, after his comedy shows were cancelled in Gurgaon, Kamra wrote an open letter addressed to the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). He challenged VHP to condemn Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.

Accusations of contempt of court After Republic TV editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami was granted interim bail by the Supreme Court on 11 November 2020, Kamra made a series of tweets critical of the Supreme Court. Eight people accused Kamra of contempt of court and sued him. The Attorney General K. K. Venugopal gave his mandatory approval to initiate contempt proceedings related to the tweets. Kamra said he continued to believe that "the silence of the Supreme Court of India on matters of other's personal liberty cannot go uncriticised." He further stated that he does not intend to retract the tweets nor apologise for them. He asked that the time that may be allotted for hearing his contempt case should be spent on more important cases pending before the court.

Accusation of defamation In a show recorded in January 2025 and made available on YouTube in March 2025, Kamra, without directly naming the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde during his performance, made remarks that were not well received by Shinde's supporters. This triggered a controversy hours after the video was posted on YouTube. Workers from the Shinde-led Sena vandalized the Habitat comedy club where the show featuring the jibe at Shinde was filmed. Twelve of the vandals were eventually arrested and granted bail on the same day. A first information report (FIR) was also filed against Kamra by Shinde-led Shiv Sena MLA Murji Patel for allegedly making defamatory remarks about Eknath Shinde. Kamra faces charges under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including Sections 353(1)(b) and 353(2) (statements conducive to public mischief), and 356(2) (defamation). After filing the FIR, Murji Patel also issued Kamra a two-day ultimatum demanding an apology. Patel warned that failure to comply would result in escalated action against the comedian. Kamra refused to apologise and was eventually summoned by the Greater Mumbai Police for questioning.

On 28 March 2025, he was granted interim anticipatory bail by the Madras High Court.

On 29 March 2025, The Indian Express reported that three more FIRs had been lodged against Kamra.

In early 2026, proceedings in connection with the controversy remained ongoing. In March 2026, Kamra was scheduled to appear before the Maharashtra Legislative Council's Privilege Committee regarding complaints related to his remarks.

Separately, Kamra filed a petition before the Bombay High Court challenging the implementation of the “Sahyog” portal and certain amendments to the Information Technology Rules, contending that they could affect freedom of expression.

CJP protests In July 2026, Kamra joined the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar, held over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination. Addressing the gathering on 15 July, Kamra said "Sita ke pati ka naam lekar, Nita ke pati ka kaam kar rahi hai." Days later advocate Amita Sachdeva sent Kamra a legal notice alleging the comment hurt Hindu religious sentiments, demanding he delete the video, apologize and give a written undertaking within 48 hours.

Filmography List of Shut Up Ya Kunal Episodes +Nope with Kunal KamraNo.Episode Name & Guest1Are We Indians Scientific? Nope with Kunal Kamra ft Gauhar Raza

Other works PodcastYouTubePhilosophical conversations and creative videos on existential issues. Five episodes till October 2020, on/with Rajneesh, Aamir Aziz, Irrfan Khan, Kanhaiya Kumar, Acharya Prashant, and Anand Gandhi.Team Baan: Monday Morning Podcast 2020PodcastYouTubeWeekly political discussions with (the owner of Twitter parody account named) 'ROFL Gandhi'.Nope 2025YouTubeWeekly discussions uncovering deeper reality about ongoing developments in India.