Kunal Kamra mocks Sudha Murty for ‘simplicity’ and NRN’s 70-hour workweek push in his controversial show: Watch

Kunal Kamra Row: Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra mocked many celebrities in his now-controversial Mumbai show, Naya Bharat. In one of the subjects that Kamra touched is a sarcastic take on author and Rajya Sabha member Sudha Murty and her simplicity.

Kamra also took a jibe at billionaire businessman and Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, Sudha Murty's husband, for suggesting a 70-hour workweek in his satirical show that lasted about 45 minutes.

‘Jo ameer hojate hai aur so middle class hone ki acting karte hai, unme see ek mahan aurat hai, uska naam hai Sudha Murty. Simplicity ki moorat hai who. Uska wohi claim hai ki mein simple hun. Aur usne apni simplicty pe pachaas kitaab likhi hai….har kitaab ka point yeahi hai ki woh simple hai. (Among the rich people who pretend to be middle class is a great lady, Sudha Murty. She is an embodiment of simplicity. That’s her claim. She has written 50 books on her simplicity…each book's theme is that I am simple)," Kamra says in the show available on YouTube.

The Naya Bharat show by Kunal Kamra stirred a political row for its cheeky “gaddar” (traitor) jab at Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The workers of Shiv Sena (Shinde), the faction of the party that deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde heads, allegedly ransacked the Habitat studio at the UniContinental hotel in Mumbai's Khar and demanded police action against Kunal Kamra.

Kamra, without naming Shinde in the 45-minute show, indirectly references Shinde's 2022 rebellion against the then Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray's leadership, along with several MLAs, by moving to Assam's Guwahati and distancing himself from the party—the united Shiv Sena.

Sudha Murty, 74, is an educator, author, philanthropist and founder-chairperson of the non-profit Infosys Foundation.

In 2024, Murty was nominated as a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, for her contributions to social work and education. Her books have been published in Kannada, Marathi and English.

When Sudha Murty buys mangoes

Kunal Kamra then narrates a fictional story in which Sudha Murty goes to a mango seller, and he sells her mangoes at cheaper rates than he sells to a lady in corporate attire.

Sudha Murty, in the story narrated in English by Kamra, then asks the mango seller why he sold her mangoes at a cheaper rate. “Are we….will anyone ask the shopkeeper why he is selling stuff at cheaper rates?” asks Kamra.

“I simply went to the mango seller, and he told me that the lady had a modern corporate job in this international company called Infosys. Now you understand why Narayan Murthy wants you to work for 70 hours a week,” Kamra says.

“Narayana Murthy bola mein ghar ke bahar hun... (Narayan Murthy must be saying I will stay out of the house," says Kamra.

Narayana Murthy is one of the seven co-founders of Infosys. He first pushed a 70-hour workweek suggestion, urging young people to embrace hard work for the betterment of India.

Last week, Sudha Murty justified her husband's 70-hour workweek suggestion.

“Listening to Sudha Murty's stories is like… she was the mother-in-law of the whole UK. What kind of simplicity is this? She is in Rajya Sabha simply,” said Kamra, invoking former UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murty.

The Mumbai police have booked Kunal Kamra for allegedly making defamatory remarks against Eknath Shinde. A total of 40 Shiv Sena workers have been booked for vandalising the Habitat studio.