The Rs 370 Biryani That Cost More Than a Meal: Inside the Pranit More Controversy That Has India Talking
A plate of chicken biryani costing Rs 370. That is where this story begins. And somehow, from that unremarkable number, a conversation about consent, comedy, and accountability exploded across Indian social media in early June 2026. The Pranit More biryani controversy is, on the surface, about a stand-up comedian and a crowd-work moment gone wrong. Beneath the surface, it is about something far larger. About what audiences laugh at, what platforms amplify, and who gets to decide what counts as just a joke.
What Actually Happened: The Viral Crowd-Work Clip Explained
The controversy began after a crowd-work clip from one of Pranit More's stand-up shows started circulating online. Crowd-work is a style of comedy where performers interact directly with audience members and create jokes from spontaneous conversations.
During one such interaction, audience member Himanshu Jangra shared a story about going on a date. According to him, he and the woman had chicken biryani that cost around Rs 360 to 370. Later, when she asked him to drop her off at home, he made a remark suggesting he needed to "recover" the money he had spent.
He said: "Maine kaha 370 rupay lage hain, main wasool toh karunga." The clip did not just capture what Jangra said. It also captured that Jangra went on to describe pressuring the woman to accompany him to a "dark" park despite her repeated reluctance. The woman in this story is unnamed. She has no voice in the viral clip. Her repeated hesitation was treated as an obstacle to be overcome, not a boundary to be respected.
The audience laughed. Pranit More called it a "Peak Gurgaon moment." He did not challenge the remark. Then he edited the clip, added subtitles, and uploaded it to his own social media channels.
That decision made everything worse.
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Why the Backlash Grew So Fast: The Real Issue Behind the Biryani
For many users, the issue was not with Jangra spending Rs 370 on a plate of biryani. It was deeper. Most argued that the mindset behind the joke was problematic. That a man would expect sex or intimacy in return for spending money on a date reduced dating to a transaction instead of a mutual experience of getting to know each other.
The controversy spread rapidly on Reddit in early June 2026. On June 8, Redditor Odd-Manufacturer3205 made a post to the TeenIndia subreddit which read: "some random guy in the audience was proudly saying he spent Rs 370 on chicken biryani for a girl and when she asked to be dropped back home, this mf said wasool toh karunga like... bro literally thinks spending 370 bucks on food means he bought a subscription to her body or something."
Suddenly, "Rs 370 ki biryani" was not just a joke anymore. It had become shorthand for entitlement in dating. Women flooded social media with reactions urging others to never agree to trade a meal for sex or intimacy without consent.
The Real-World Consequences: A Job Lost, an Instagram Deactivated
This controversy did not stay online. Himanshu Jangra, a 23-year-old web developer from Gurugram, was terminated from his job at Starvik Design. The dismissal came after the video clip spread rapidly across social media. Vivek Vishwakarma, the founder of Starvik Design, issued a video statement on Instagram confirming the termination and said: "Let me be very clear, the statements shown in those clips are offensive. They are not something I agree with. They are not something our company stands for."
Jangra subsequently apologised and deactivated his social media accounts.
For Pranit More, the fallout followed a different trajectory. On June 2, More issued a public apology through his Instagram Stories. He stated that he had a severe lapse in judgement and should have challenged the audience member's remarks instead of laughing. He clarified that he does not endorse those views and deleted the crowd-work clip from his profiles, adding that he removed the video because he did not want to amplify or normalise those views. The apology itself drew mixed reactions. Many felt it came too late and only after the backlash became too large to ignore.
More later deactivated his main Instagram account amid the sustained criticism. His Marathi comedy account remained active.
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What This Says About Comedy and Responsibility
The Pranit More stand-up controversy sits within a broader, ongoing conversation about the line between comedy and harm. Crowd-work, by its nature, is spontaneous and unpredictable. But what a comedian chooses to amplify, laugh at, and then package for millions of social media followers is not accidental. It is a choice.
What began as a crowd-work interaction during a live show eventually led to public apologies, professional consequences and multiple viral clips coming under scrutiny. Many are asking how a seemingly ordinary comedy moment turned into one of the internet's biggest talking points.
The answer is not complicated. The moment was not just funny or unfunny. It was a reflection of something many people recognise and have experienced. That recognition is exactly what made it spread.
Closing Thoughts
Pranit More has over 2 million subscribers on YouTube and hundreds of millions of views. That reach comes with weight. What a comedian normalises on stage, and then packages and shares, does not disappear when the show ends. The Rs 370 biryani story reminded a lot of people, loudly, of that reality. The debate will continue. But the conversation, at least, has been opened.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information available across the web. Parchar Manch does not take responsibility for its complete accuracy, as the content could not be fully verified.
FAQs
What happened to Himanshu Jangra after the video went viral?
Jangra, a 23-year-old web developer from Gurugram, was fired from his company Starvik Design. His employer publicly confirmed the termination, stating the remarks were offensive and did not reflect the company's values. Jangra later apologised and deactivated his social media accounts.
Did Pranit More apologise for the biryani date video?
Yes. On June 2, 2026, More issued a public apology on Instagram Stories, acknowledging a lapse in judgement for laughing instead of challenging the audience member's remarks. He also deleted the clip from all his platforms. He later deactivated his main Instagram account.
Why did people find the joke offensive?
The core issue was not the price of the biryani but the mindset it revealed: that spending money on a woman during a date entitles a man to physical intimacy. Many also noted that the clip described the woman's hesitation being overridden, which raised serious concerns about consent.
What is crowd-work comedy?
Crowd-work is a style of stand-up comedy where the performer interacts directly and spontaneously with audience members, drawing humour from unscripted conversations. The Pranit More controversy renewed debate about a comedian's responsibility when crowd-work crosses ethical lines.