"Delist me, but give me my audience": Kunal Kamra to BookMyShow

Just days after ticketing platform BookMyShow removed Kunal Kamra’s content and dropped his name from its list of performers, the stand-up comedian has issued an open letter, requesting the platform to share the contact details of audiences who attended his shows.

In a post shared on X, Kamra said he understands that BookMyShow has to “maintain a cordial relationship with the state, and I know that Mumbai is a major hub for live entertainment.” He added, “Without the state’s cooperation, iconic shows like Coldplay and Guns N’ Roses wouldn’t be possible.”

He continued, “However, the issue at hand isn’t about whether you can or will delist me – it’s about your 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.”

BookMyShow, run by Bigtree Entertainment Private Limited, removed Kamra’s content and delisted him following backlash over a parody song targeting Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. During a performance at Mumbai’s Habitat studio, Kamra sang a version of ‘Bholi Si Surat’, a song from Dil To Pagal Hai, in which he called Mr. Shinde a ‘gaddar’ (traitor).

Mr. Shinde had led a political revolt that split the Shiv Sena and led to the fall of Uddhav Thackeray’s government in 2022. Since then, Mr. Thackeray and his allies have repeatedly labeled Shinde a ‘gaddar’.

In response to Kamra’s parody, Shinde’s supporters vandalised the Habitat studio, a popular venue for stand-up acts. The studio, located in Khar, later shut down operations, clarifying that it does not control show content. The next day, civic authorities demolished parts of the building, citing violations of building regulations. However, the timing raised suspicions that the move was related to the Kamra controversy. Multiple cases have been filed against the comedian, and after skipping three summons, he has been granted interim protection from arrest by the Madras High Court.

Kamra also questioned BookMyShow’s business practices, saying, “You take a 10% cut of the revenue for listing shows, which is your business model. However, this raises an important point: No matter how big or small a comedian is, we are all compelled to spend between 6,000 to 10,000 rupees a day on advertising to reach our own audience. This cost is an additional burden that we, as artists, must bear.”

He then made a direct appeal: “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 concluded, “With that in mind, 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. Thank you for your understanding.” Kamra also noted that while BookMyShow might cite data protection concerns, “the question of who protects what data, and from whom, is a much broader conversation”.

Earlier, Sena leader Rahool Kanal had appealed to BookMyShow to deny Kamra a platform. After the delisting, he thanked the portal, saying, “Thank you for keeping your portal clean and keeping such artists out of the list of pure entertainment, because we all being Mumbaikars love and believe in every form of art but not personal agendas.”