The ₹370 biryani controversy has stirred a debate on consent on social media. Web developer Himanshu Jangra, who made the misogynistic comment about seeking physical intimacy in return for spending money on a meal during a date with a woman at Pranit More’s Gurugram comedy show, was fired from his job. In a recent interaction, Vivek Vishwakarma, founder of the company that sacked Himanshu, spoke about the reason behind firing him.
‘Himanshu was a different personality in office’
Speaking to India Today, Vivek admitted that he didn’t pay heed to Himanshu’s viral clip in the beginning as he was occupied with work, but later, when the controversy became huge, he saw the video and found it offensive. However, he didn’t want to get involved in it as it was a matter that happened outside the office. He called Himanshu a ‘totally different personality at the workplace’, even calling him a ‘good employee’.
‘Received bad comments, clients left’
But he admitted that his company started receiving negative comments online and some clients also stepped back, which made him fire Himanshu. He said, “After that, I received a lot of comments, messages, emails. They were associating everything with a rapist mindset. So things got really serious. Then I thought of answering everyone because I was getting lot of bad reviews and comments on our company pages. So for that reason I had to respond. We are a design and marketing company, so the clients come through social media and these channels and those impressions were getting hampered. Bad comments were all over our Instagram. Every post got 100s and 10000s bad comments, few clients whom we were in talk with also stepped back so my work was getting hampered. Himanshu also was not comfortable and he had stopped coming to office two days prior to when I got to know about this, it was a business decision for my brand.”
‘Pranit should have stopped him’
Vivek also blamed Pranit for not schooling or stopping Himanshu on his show. He said, “The vibe of the show was like, it was called ‘the Ashlil show’. I don’t want to take Himanshu’s side, but for a 22-year-old coming from a small town in Haryana and seeing all those things, and he was already trying to be an influencer on social media, I think it amplified there and Pranit also boosted him. He should have cut him then and there.”
What is the ₹370 biryani controversy?
At Pranit More’s Gurugram show, the comedian invited audience member Himanshu to share an anecdote. Himanshu spoke about how he expected physical intimacy from a woman after going on a date with her and spending money on her meal — a ₹370 biryani. He said, “Maine kaha ki ₹370 lage hain to use to wasool to karunga hi.” His comments were met with huge backlash on social media and sparked a debate about consent.