The Habitat reopens months after Kunal Kamra's 'gaddar' remark controversy, internet says ‘stay courageous’

The Habitat Comedy Club, Mumbai, has opened its doors after almost two months of Kunal Kamra's controversial stand-up comedy act. The venue was vandalised and later shut following the controversy which erupted after Kamra's ‘gaddar’ remark during his show.

Habitat Comedy Club reopens

Recently, The Habitat announced: “Your Ticket to Happiness is in the link in bio.”

Their posts promoted a lineup of comedians who would hold their shows at the venue soon. From Abhishek Upmanyu to Abhijeet Ganguly, Abhishek Bhutwani and more, several popular comedians would be returning to the popular Mumbai venue for their shows.

Internet reacts to Habitat Comedy Club's return

Reacting to the news, fans showed their excitement in the comment section. One user wrote in the comments, “Samay (Raina) when?” “Welcome back guys,” cheered another.

One more commented, “Comedy Shuru Kiya jaaye (Let's begin comedy shows).” Someone also said, “Well Done !! Stay courageous.”

Kunal Kamra controversy

The Habitat Comedy Club was vandalised by Shiv Sena workers, as per a report of HT, after Kunal made a 'gaddar' (traitor) joke on Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. Later, The Habitat had issued a statement on the incident, shutting down their venue. 

In the statement, the team said it does "not support hate or harm of any kind".

On March 24, Habitat Studio shared their take on the incident and expressed their shock at the situation. Via Instagram, the studio shared in a post, “We are shocked, worried and extremely broken by the recent acts of vandalism targeting us. Artists are solely responsible for their views and creative choices. We have never been involved in the content performed by any Artist, but the recent events have made us rethink about how we get blamed and targeted every time almost like we are a proxy for the performer. We are shutting down till we figure out the best way to provide a platform for free expression without putting ourselves and our property in jeopardy. We invite all artists, audience and stakeholders to discuss and share their views freely and request your guidance so that we also respect the performers rights."

“The Habitat has always been a neutral platform for all kinds of artists to share their work in any language - for anything that requires a stage our doors remain open. Just providing a stage helps to encourage people in discovering their creativity, build their talent, and sometimes find a new career. The stage belongs to an artist while they're on it. Artists create their own content, their words and expressions are their own. We urge constructive conversations, not destruction, to address disagreements. We do not support hate or harm of any kind. Violence and destruction undermine the very spirit of art and dialogue.”