Mr Ghosh apparently in a video message made some remarks against the emperor, which irked people, who started posting messages to him online

Mumbai: Stand-up comedian Sourav Ghosh has cancelled all his programmes in the city after being targeted by Shiv Sena supporters on social media for his Facebook comment on Shivaji Maharaj. Shiv Sainiks were irked by Mr Ghosh’s comment ‘Oo Nange Marathi Bacche, Peheno Shivaji Kacche’, (Naked Marathi kids, wear Shivaji underwear) and took him to task on social media. Mr Ghosh later posted an apology, stating that Shivaji was a great king.

On Friday, some sainiks started posting messages against Mr Ghosh for making derogatory remarks against Shivaji. Mr Ghosh apparently in a video message made some remarks against the emperor, which irked people, who started posting messages to him online. Replying to one of the messages, Mr Ghosh on his Facebook wall posted a message, titled Troll vs Underwear.

His message was in response to an online interaction he had with a user who commented on his video. In the interaction, Mr Ghosh wrote, “Sirf video nahi, mai Shivaji ke naam se underwear bhi bechata hoon, bahut mast bik rahe hain, tag line hai, ‘oo nange marathi bacche, lelo Shivaji ke Kacche.’ (Not only video, I even sell underwear in the name of Shivaji, they are selling well too. The tag line is ‘O nude Marathi children, wear Shivaji underwear.’)

The screenshot of the same was posted on Twitter and Facebook. Amit Bhadricha, a member of Sena’s IT cell, said, “We cannot take such cases lightly, as an insult to Shivaji Maharaj is not acceptable. We just posted on social media, we didn’t approach the police nor did we threaten him.”

However, Mr Ghosh on his Facebook page posted an apology and even cancelled all his shows in the city. He wrote, “I have been getting a lot of hate for one of the screenshots I had put up on my Facebook page where I said the worst things possible about Chhatrapati Shivaji. It all started when I put up a video called ‘Mumbai Airports’ where there was a small reference of Shivaji Maharaj (as the airport is named after him) to which I thought a lot of people overreacted. I kept ignoring most of these messages but after a while started engaging with some of them because it was good fun until I went too far and hurt their sentiments. My intent was definitely not to incite animosity but just to annoy that one person trolling. I was only thinking about ‘What would be the funniest thing I could say at the moment’ to this person. Now I understand that what I thought was funny, may not be funny to most people. In fact the general consensus is that it's crude and vulgar and that includes my family, colleagues, partners and friends, however that was not my intent at all. I am taking down the post from my side because I understand the point and in no way do I want to incite any more hate. These are just jokes. I don't mean them, nor do I intend to hurt anyone. I know Chattrapati Shivaji was a great king and had done great things and me saying some silly things do not scratch his legacy but I do find it very unfortunate that I had hurt so many people's feelings.” Mr Ghosh’s contact number was switched off, and we could not reach him for comment.