Media365
5 min readMumbaiOct 12, 2026 02:02 PM IST
Shekhar Suman has addressed the “misconception” that his weekly YouTube satire show, Shekhar Tonite, targets the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is in power at the Centre. He argued that Prime Minister Narendra Modi isn’t “so weak” that he’d object to the actor’s biting monologues on the show.
Clarifying that Shekhar Tonite is not directed against the BJP, Shekhar drew an analogy between the government and a class monitor. “If the class monitor lapses, the students would panic and hold him accountable, right? It doesn’t matter who the monitor is,” he said in a recent interview with The Lallantop. He pointed out that his popular late-night talk show Movers & Shakers first aired in 1997, when the BJP was in power at the Centre, and returned in 2012, when the Congress-led government was in office.
Emphasising that his satire has never been directed at any particular political party, Shekhar said, “Like we used to take digs at PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee earlier, we’d take digs at PM Manmohan Singh. We don’t comment on any person or any government not on the system at large. If you’ve elected someone to lead the system, if they go astray, you point it out to them. That’s why it’s not anti-anyone, but pro-people. We’re just representing people and amplifying their voice. We’ll do that tomorrow as well when someone else would be in power.”
Shekar Suman claimed that he respects Prime Minister Narendra Modi as much as he does INC chief and Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi. “But when something wrong happens, it becomes legitimate to speak against that,” he said. The actor also addressed concerns over videos criticising PM Modi allegedly being taken down from social media. “It happens. It is happening. You can’t hold any person accountable for this, but the system which is going wrong somewhere. Those who are leading are just faces. But there should be accountability.”
Shekhar Suman says BJP leaders lauded his show
Shekhar Suman revealed that instead of receiving calls from the BJP government threatening him to pull down the show, he received calls of appreciation from a number of politicians. “I don’t think PM Modi is so weak that his government would call me up for such a small show. He’s a very powerful being. There are a lot of other things happening around the globe which warrant his attention far more. Aur bhi gham hain zamane mein Shekhar Tonite ke siwa,” said Shekar, invoking legendary Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s memorable line from his nazm, “Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob Na Maang.”
Shekhar recalled that once the premiere episode of Shekar Tonite dropped on YouTube, several comments claimed that episode 2 wouldn’t see light of the day. “Why? Who’d stop it? PM Modi? He himself has said it multiple times that he likes to be critiqued. So, we took a cue from there. I’m presuming he has a sense of humour, and he wouldn’t take it so seriously. It’s part of democracy, and part of my profession. What we’re saying is in the framework of entertainment and satire. So, there’s no reason for the government to get worried. My show isn’t that important,” said the actor.
However, he confessed that when he got calls from BJP politicians, he also suspected they’re for the wrong reasons. “But that wasn’t the case. Some politicians even visited my home. They’re all honest and sincere people. A lot of people spread this misinformation that it’s an environment of fear, and no one can say anything against anyone. Why can’t they? People are raising their voice,” argued Shekhar.
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Shekhar Suman on ED raids on his producer
Just as Shekhar Suman’s satire against the BJP picked traction, particularly after his monologue on the “tanashaah” (dictator), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids on the office of Dharmesh Sangani, producer of Shekhar Tonite. But Shekhar refused to link that to the content of the show. “I don’t know. Maybe the producer would’ve had a personal problem. The payment had gotten delayed, so maybe that’s why. It was a small matter,” he said.
The actor-host also added that he never asked the producer the reason behind the ED raids. “You can add two plus two, that why did the raid take place then only? But he’s an individual businessman. He has other dealings also. Like how it happened recently with Vashu Bhagnani. He’s worked with a lot of actors. Similarly, there are hundreds of producers that I’ve worked with. He’s one of them,” argued Shekar. The ED recently conducted raids on Vashu Bhagnani’s production house Pooja Entertainment.
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“But I have to laud him (Sangani) for backing it voluntarily because we’d told him it’s a different kind of show,” said Shekhar, giving credut where it’s due. “He’d called me to say, ‘Don’t stop making the show. Keep at it. I’m with you always. Don’t be scared. There’s no reason to worry. It’s a routine thing.’ I still don’t think the government is that weak. And if it is, then that’s very unfortunate,” added the actor.
