In the year 2024, Arshad Warsi found himself at the center of a huge row on social media after commenting on it PrabhasWatch yourself in ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, which sparked a wave of trolls from the Telugu superstar’s fans. For context, Arshad had remarked that Prabhas resembled a “joker” in the Nag Ashwin film and suggested that it should have been styled as Mel Gibson instead. Nani later reacted by saying that the comment had probably earned Arshad “the most publicity” of his career, a comment which in turn drew criticism from a section of the Hindi film audience.
Arshad Warsi was only joking with close friends
Now, in conversation with News18, Arshad shares that he keeps his unfiltered side strictly reserved for his close friends, behind closed doors. “I only joke with my friends. To be honest, I don’t joke with anyone else. If I have to joke, I joke with people I know and my friends because I know what to say and how much I can say. If I don’t know someone, I won’t say anything in front of them because I won’t have a clue. It’s as simple as that,” he says.
Arshad Warsi on why people should lighten up
But Arshad also says that in today’s world, where social media scrutinizes everything, people should learn to laugh at jokes. “As people, we all need to lighten up,” he says. He believes this is true for movies as well. He recalls Munna Bhai MBBS’s ‘hakka noodle’ joke and says that although they are trolled now, it is not really ‘offensive’. There is nothing offensive. People may dissect it more today, but it’s not offensive. We guys do call ‘baal ki dukaan’ and that’s not offensive either,” he remarks. For those who don’t know, in ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, Arshad’s character Circuit meets a Chinese tourist and jokingly calls him ‘hakka noodles’. At the same time, Arshad says he strongly believes in “self-censorship”. “You have to practice it. I’m personally not a big fan of Pakistani humor, just because it’s derogatory. Pakistani humor is a bit insulting all the time – name calling and all that. A lot of people like it but I personally don’t. I’m also not a big fan of sex comedies and this is my choice. People like it. Everyone has their choice, but this is the censorship I practice”, he says.
Arshad Warsi on being trolled by faceless people
Earlier, in a conversation with the same publication after facing trolls over his comments on Prabhas, Arshad had said, “Having an opinion is fine, but these are faceless people. They hide and pass comments because they have nothing better to do. It gives them some importance that I abused this actor. Their comments are random, baseless and even meaningless. more.” Anything can be inappropriate. You and I could be having a normal conversation over a cup of tea and someone could be upset about the cup. I don’t know what to do with this!”