Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra Monday issued an open letter to BookMyShow following uncertainty over whether the ticketing platform has delisted him. The letter, shared on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), comes amid political backlash over one of Kamra's performances, which included a satirical song obliquely referencing Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "Dear @bookmyshow - I still don’t know if I have your platform or no.," Kamra began, before laying out his concerns in full. In the letter, Kamra acknowledged the platform's right as a private business to make its own decisions. “I’m not a fan of boycotts or downrating a private business… BookMyShow is well within their right to do what’s best for their business,” he said. However, he raised concerns about the platform’s exclusivity over ticket listings and its data-sharing policies with artists. Dear @bookmyshow - I still don’t know if I have your platform or no. Below is humble view - To the audiences I’m not a fan of boycotts or down rating a private business… Book my show is well within their right to do what’s best for their business | pic.twitter.com/TXaB22sfxI — Kunal Kamra (@kunalkamra88) April 7, 2025 Kamra claimed that by not allowing performers to list shows through their own websites, BookMyShow restricts artists' access to audiences they have built over several years. He also pointed out that performers are required to spend significant sums—between ₹6,000 to ₹10,000 per day—on advertising to reach their audience, in addition to the 10 per cent revenue cut taken by the platform. "What the artist is requesting is simple: please ensure that you hand over the contact information of the audiences they've collected from their solo shows," Kamra wrote, adding that comedians are both the show and the production — solo entrepreneurs navigating a tightly controlled ecosystem. He closed the letter with a direct appeal: either don’t delist artists, or provide them with the data they’ve helped generate. The letter comes days after Kamra’s parody song targeting Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, performed during a show at Habitat Comedy Club in Mumbai, sparked a political backlash. Supporters of the Shiv Sena vandalised the venue, and MLA Murji Patel registered a police complaint against Kamra. Reports of the stand-up comic being delisted emerged after Shiv Sena youth leader Rahool Kanal — who led the group of Sena workers who vandalised the Mumbai’s Habitat Comedy Club where Kamra had recorded his set— wrote to BookMyShow on April 2, urging the platform to stop ticket sales for Kamra’s upcoming performances. Kanal accused the comedian of making derogatory and politically charged remarks about public officials, including India’s Prime Minister and deputy chief ministers, and referred to Kamra’s comedy as a “campaign of vilification.” Shiv Sena Yuva Sena General Secretary Rahool Kanal has written to BookMyShow and has requested them to not provide ticketing platform to Kunal Kamra for his further shows. pic.twitter.com/SquOrIqqHK — ANI (@ANI) April 3, 2025 Responding, BookMyShow in an Instagram post said facts pertaining to the platform's role had been misrepresented in the public domain. View this post on Instagram A post shared by BookMyShow (@bookmyshowin) "Our role is to provide a platform for ticket sales of live shows and it is the decision of the organiser or the venue to list or delist their shows," they said, adding, "BookMyshow is a platform to facilitate the sale of tickets and operates the business with neutrality and in compliance with the applicable laws of India.
