Don’t delist me, or give me audience contact info: Kamra to BookMyShow
Comedian pens open letter to ticketing portal, asking it to hand over contact information of the audiences it collected from his shows
Two days after ticketing platform BookMyShow removed all content related to Kunal Kamra and the stand-up comedian’s name from its list of artistes, he has penned an open letter addressing the portal, asking it to hand over contact information of the audiences it collected from his shows.
In the letter posted on X, Kamra said while he understood that BookMyShow needs to “maintain a cordial relationship with the state, and…that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment”, the issue at hand wasn’t about whether they could or would delist him. It was about their “exclusive right on listing our shows”.
“By not allowing artists to list their shows through their own websites, you’ve effectively prevented me from accessing the audience I’ve performed for from 2017 to 2025,” Kamra said.
Kamra’s request
BookMyShow, which has Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries as its largest shareholder, is run by Bigtree Entertainment Pvt Ltd.
The comedian — who is in the eye of a storm over indirectly calling Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde a gaddar (traitor) at one of his shows — said that while BookMyShow takes a 10 per cent cut of the revenue for listing shows, comedians have to spend Rs 6,000–10,000 a day on advertising to reach their audience.
Also read: Controversy’s child? Not just Shinde, Kamra has ruffled quite a few feathers in past
“What I’m requesting is simple: 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. As a solo artist, especially in the world of comedy, we are both the show and the production. For instance, if I performed at the Pune Comedy Festival with 30 other artists, that would be considered comedy’s collective data. But my solo shows — that’s my audience. The least I deserve, should you choose to delist me, is access to them,” he said.
A costly joke
He went on to give the platform two options: “…I request one of the following: Do not delist me, or provide me with the data (contact information) I’ve generated through your platform from my audience.”
The intrepid comedian faces multiple court cases for the joke cracked on the Shiv Sena leader. He has skipped three summonses from the Mumbai Police so far while the Madras High Court has granted him interim protection from arrest. On Monday, the court extended the interim anticipatory bail till April 17.
Infuriated by Kamra’s joke, Shinde’s supporters went on the rampage at Habitat studio in Mumbai’s Khar, which was subsequently shut down. Civic authorities, citing building law violations, demolished parts of it the very next day.
Also read: Artists can either sell their soul or wither in silence: Kunal Kamra
Rahool Kanal, who was among the 12 Shiv Sena leaders arrested in the vandalism case, had earlier urged BookMyShow not to provide a platform to Kamra. And the platform seemingly obliged last Saturday.
