Stand-up comedian Agrima Joshua found herself in a lot of bother after a video clip of one of her performances went viral on social media. In the video, the comedian mocked the Shiv Smarak, a memorial dedicated to the legendary Hindu monarch Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. After the video went viral, MNS workers vandalised the studio the performance was shot at and calls were made for her arrest.
Considering recent developments, Agrima Joshua issued an apology on social media for her tasteless joke that did not sit well with people. Intriguingly, in her tweet sharing the video of her apology, she tagged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, his son Aditya Thackeray, Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Congress leader Nitin Raut and MNS supremo Raj Thackeray.
मेरी क्षमायाचना स्वीकार करे,
— Agrima Joshua 🇮🇳 (@Agrimonious) July 11, 2020
Please accept my humble apology,@cmoMaharashtra @authackrey@anildeshmukhncp@nitinraut@RajThackrey pic.twitter.com/uHBZMBPOfB
Agrima Joshua donned a Tilak in the video and dedicated her apology specifically to NCP, Shiv Sena, MNS and the Congress party. She said that she could not deliver her apology personally as her residence was in a red zone but expressed her hope that her apology will be accepted and everyone will be able to move on with their lives as usual.
Interestingly, until yesterday, Agrima Joshua was claiming that it was BJP supporters who were trolling her online and abusing her. She went so far as to assert that “One look at my timeline and you’ll see these followers flooding my mentions with filth. No follower of a great warrior will ever stoop to this filth.” She claimed that it was “really obvious” that these were BJP supporters who were abusing her. “Your bhakhts have a very distinct vocabulary for women. I know who you are,” she said.
Agrima Joshua was claiming that she was being used by BJP followers claiming that they were supporters of Shiv Sena. She also tagged Aditya Thackeray in her tweet and said that she was “pretty sure the Shiv Sena, has better things to take care of in Maharashtra right now, than some comic doing her job.” Given the people her apology was addressed to, it appears that the stand-up comic has realised that the abuse was not coming from BJP) supporters.
Agrima Joshua also has some wisdom to offer as to why there are no pro-government comedians. However, given the manner in which she apologised to the Maha Vikas Akhadi government in Maharashtra, it appears that she is the first comedian to belong to that category.
Joke that got Agrima Joshua in trouble
In the controversial viral video clip, Agrima Joshua joked, “I wanted to know more about the statue of Shivaji being erected in the Arabian Sea, so I went to the most trusted site on the internet and that is Quora. I found a well-sized essay written by someone there. The Shivaji statue is a masterstroke by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the people of Maharashtra, he wrote. Another one, realising that the post lacked creativity, added that the statue would have a GPS tracker and a laser light in his eyes to kill the Pakistani terrorists coming from the Arabian Sea. Then I found a third person who commented that it is not Shivaji but Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I followed him.”
Despite her apology, users on social media are not happy as her apology was dedicated to political parties and not the people of Maharashtra and Hindus from other states who were hurt by her comments.
