Comedy audiences act as their own censor board, the stand-up veteran told BuzzFeed India.
Jerry Seinfeld is making his way to Mumbai to perform two shows this coming weekend, on Mar. 14 and 15. This marks his first time performing in India.
The comedy legend has a large following in India due to his massively popular TV show, Seinfeld. In the cherry-picked snippets of American culture that were imported into the Indian mainstream, Seinfeld was an early favourite. Thousands of Indians today cherish memories of hanging out with Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer on Zee Cafe (or Zee English or Comedy Central or FX, depending on how old or young you are), leading absurd and hilarious Upper West Side misadventures vicariously through them.
Seinfeld's visit coincides with a defining moment for comedy in India, with several pending police and court cases against Indian comedians who have drawn the ire of religious leaders and censor board members for content found to be "vulgar" and "offensive."
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"I don't think comedy should be censored," Jerry Seinfeld told BuzzFeed India in a phone-call Tuesday night, adding that a defining identity of comedy is that it is "unfiltered speech."
Seinfeld went on to say that comedy audiences are their own censor board, providing immediate feedback to comedians when they cross the line. "If there's something that the audience doesn't like, or if something doesn't work, or if there's something they're unhappy about, they will censor the comedian. Nobody else needs to do it."
Seinfeld said last month that he is looking forward to the opportunity "to make fun of India in person." When BuzzFeed India asked what he found funniest about India, he responded: "Indians."
The comedian told BuzzFeed he is looking forward to "seeing Indians in their own environment," as opposed to in the United States, where they have had to adapt to American culture. "I like that the shoe's on the other foot now, and I'll be the one that gets to be uncomfortable."
Details of Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming shows in Mumbai can be found on Insider.in.
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