Manoj Bajpayee on immigrant humour: ‘We should learn to laugh at ourselves’

Actor Manoj Bajpayee has weighed in on humour involving immigrants, saying people should learn to laugh at themselves and each other without taking offence. He stressed that humour must be accompanied by respect for people and their backgrounds.

Mumbai: Actor Manoj Bajpayee has reacted to the ongoing issue about humour on immigrants in comedian Samay Raina’s show ‘India’s Got Latent’.

The actor recently spoke with IANS during the promotions of his upcoming film ‘Last Man in Tower’.

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When told about the incident on the comedian’s show where the comedian engaged in a fun banter with Sharon Verma with the two mocking each other’s roots.

Reacting to the same, Manoj told IANS, “If it is all in jest, I actually don’t mind it. We should learn to laugh at ourselves and laugh together, laugh at each other and still not be hurt and offended. So, this is what we should learn. We should have humor about ourselves but at the same time we should have respect, not only for ourselves but also for the person that you are sitting with and where that person comes from. It’s very very important. If two people are very easy with each other, they always laugh at each other”.

The actor then went on to narrate an incident from his initial days in the national capital when he was spoken to harshly by a bus driver.

He further mentioned, “When I was in Delhi, I was 18, and I was trying to get into a bus from the front door because this was my first time. So, I didn’t know the rules of the city. So, the driver looked at me, and shouted, ‘Aye Bihari board from the back gate’. So, he didn’t know that I was from Bihar but actually I’m from Bihar. So, for him, every person who was doing that kind of a foolish mistake was from Bihar. I didn’t mind it because first, he was right that I was from Bihar. Second, I was not wrong because I was new to the city and I was completely unfamiliar. But when I made friends with people from different states, we used to laugh at each other”.

“We never got offended or hurt. But yes, there is a problem if somebody coming from somewhere becomes a problem for you or becomes a problem for the community. Then there is a problem. Till then it’s, we should be able to laugh at each other, laugh at ourselves. That’s a sign of a very healthy society”, he added.