Munawar Iqbal Faruqui (born 28 January 1992) is an Indian stand-up comedian and rapper. In 2022, he won the

Kangana Ranaut Kangna Amardeep Ranaut (; born 23 March 1987) is an Indian actress and filmmaker who works in Hindi films. Known for her work in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including four National Film Awards and five Filmfar ...

's reality TV show, Lock Upp Season 1. Currently, he is a contestant on the Indian reality TV show '' Bigg Boss 17'', which commenced in October 2023.

Early life

Faruqui was born in Junagadh, Gujarat, on 28 January 1992 to a

Gujarati Muslim The term Gujarati Muslim is usually used to signify an Indian Muslim from the state of Gujarat in western coast of India. Most Gujarati Muslims have Gujarati language as their mother tongue, but some communities such as the Momin Ansari, Memons ...

family. His father lost the money and came under a huge debt. Due to financial constraints, he left school after the 5th class. He started to work to make the ends meet. Still a child, he worked at a gift shop and later joined his mother & grandmother in making and selling samosas & chaklis. His mother died of suicide when he was 14 years old. After his mother's death, he relocated to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

at his aunt's request. In 2020, his father passed away, after suffering from paralysis.

Career

In April 2020, he uploaded a standup comedy video named "''Dawood, Yamraaj & Aurat''" on his channel, which earned him his initial stardom. He released his debut song "Jawab" in collaboration with an Indian musician Spectra in August 2020. On 28 February 2021, he uploaded a standup comedy video named "''Ghost Story''" on his YouTube Channel. In 2022 he became a contestant on

Balaji Telefilms Balaji Telefilms is an Indian company that produces Indian soap operas, reality TV, comedy, game shows, entertainment, and factual programming in several Indian languages. Balaji Telefilms is promoted by Ekta Kapoor and Shobha Kapoor and is a ...

's reality television show '' Lock Upp'', hosted by

. On 8 May 2022, he was declared the show's winner. The show was streamed on OTT platforms

ALTBalaji ALTBalaji is an Indian subscription based video on demand platform which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Balaji Telefilms Ltd. Launched on 16 April 2017, ALTBalaji is the group's foray into the digital entertainment sphere to create original O ...

and

MX Player MX Player is an Indian video streaming and video on demand platform developed by MX Media & Entertainment (formerly J2 Interactive). It has over 280 million users globally. The platform currently operates on an ad-supported model and has a stre ...

. On 5 November 2022, he did a Punjabi song named "Todh" along with Prince Narula and Rony Ajnali. Since 15 October 2023, Faruqui has been a contestant on the reality TV show '' Bigg Boss 17''. The show is broadcast on the TV channel

Colors Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

and streamed on OTT platform

JioCinema JioCinema is an Indian subscription video on-demand and over-the-top streaming service, owned by Viacom 18, a subsidiary of TV18. Launched on 5 September 2016, JioCinema's content library includes films, television shows, web series, music vi ...

. The show, hosted by

Salman Khan Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...

, is a franchise of the Dutch reality show '' Big Brother'' and is produced by

Endemol Shine India Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...

through

Viacom18 Viacom18 Media Private Limited is an Indian media and entertainment joint venture between TV18 and Paramount Global based in Mumbai. It was founded in 2007 and owns various channels, as well as content production studios in India. History In ...

and

Disney Star Disney Star Private Limited is an Indian media conglomerate and a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. It is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Disney Star network runs more than 70 TV channels in eight languages, reac ...

Personal life

Faruqui married Jasmine in 2017 but the marriage ended in a divorce in 2022. The ex-couple has a five-year-old son. Since December 2021, he had been dating

social media influencer An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of social m ...

Nazila Sitaishi. In ''Bigg Boss'', his ex-partner Ayesha Khan accused him for two-timing her and Sitaishi and being involved with multiple women. Subsequently, on 18 December 2023, Sitaishi broke up with him on Instagram live, accusing him of cheating.

Arrest and controversy

Munawar Faruqui was on his tour where he was performing comedy in different cities of India. On 1 January 2021, he performed a stand-up show at Munro Cafe in

Indore Indore () is the largest and most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It serves as the headquarters of both Indore District and Indore Division. It is also considered as an education hub of the state and is t ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, which was interrupted by Eklavya Singh Gaur, son of BJP MLA

Malini Gaur Malini Laxmansingh Gaur (born 19 June 1961) is an Indian politician serving as the mayor of Indore. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. She became mayor in February 2015 by defeating her nearest rival Archana Jaiswal of Indian Natio ...

accusing him of making malicious jokes about

Hindu deities Hindu deities are the gods and goddesses in Hinduism. The terms and epithets for deities within the diverse traditions of Hinduism vary, and include Deva, Devi, Ishvara, Ishvari, Bhagavān and Bhagavati. The deities of Hinduism have evolved ...

and the Minister of Home Affairs of India,

Amit Shah Amit Anil Chandra Shah (born 22 October 1964) is an Indian politician currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs since 2019 and the first Minister of Co-operation of India since 2021. He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata P ...

. On 2 January, he was arrested by

Madhya Pradesh Police The Madhya Pradesh Police Department is the law enforcement agency for the state of Madhya Pradesh in India. Organizational structure Hierarchy The Madhya Pradesh Police uses the following ranks: Officers * Director General of Police (DGP) ...

in the midst of his comic act, stating that he was arrested under the

Hate speech laws in India The hate speech laws in India aim to prevent discord among its many ethnic and religious communities. The laws allow a citizen to seek the punishment of anyone who shows the citizen disrespect "on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, reside ...

. The police however, had no evidence against Munawar, still arrested him. His arrest was heavily criticised for not respecting a comedian's

freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...

, including by a joint initiative of the global Indian diaspora on 2 February 2021, that said a group of South Asian American stand-up comedians will perform a virtual comedy show on 6 February 2021 to show their solidarity with jailed Faruqui. He was subsequently granted bail by the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...

. He spent 37 days in the jail.

Filmography

Television

Discography

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faruqui, Munwar 1992 births Living people Indian male comedians Indian stand-up comedians People from Mumbai People from Junagadh Indian rappers Gujarati Muslims Indian theatre people Gujarati people Indian YouTubers Comedy YouTubers Indian prisoners and detainees Bigg Boss (Hindi TV series) contestants