Twinkle Khanna Addresses Akshay Kumar-Mallika Dua Controversy, Says 'It's a Colloquial Phrase that Both Men, Women Use'

Writer-film producer Twinkle Khanna has come out in support of husband Akshay Kumar after the actor was slammed by comedienne Mallika Dua and her father Vinod Dua for an "insensitive" remark aimed at the former during The Great Indian Laughter Challenge shoot.

Taking to Facebook, Mallika's father on Wednesday posted, "I am going to screw this cretin Akshay Kumar for telling his co-worker Mallika Dua that 'Aap bell bajao, main aap ko bajata hun' (You ring the bell, I will bang you)... This is his sense of humour and language... Star Plus... Wake up." He wrote it alongside a clip from the shoot of the popular comedy show, in which Akshay made the remark. The post has apparently been removed by Facebook.

While Akshay has not yet addressed the controversy, Twinkle decided to break her silence on the matter and said "humour has to be seen in its right context."

In her long note on Twitter, she said, "I would like to address the controversy on the sets of The Laughter Challenge. The show has a bell which the judges ring after a contestant's exceptional performance and when Ms Dua went forward to ring the bell, Mr Kumar said, "Mallika Ji aap bell bajao main aapko bajata hun" A pun on the words and actions related to the ringing of the bell. It's a colloquial phrase that both men and women use- for instance, "I am going to bajao him/ her" or "I got bajaoed", Red FM even has a tagline 'Bajatey Raho' all without sexist connotations. Mr Vinod Dua, Ms Dua's father, had written a post- it's been taken down now, stating, "I am going to screw this cretin Akshay Kumar". Should Mr Dua's statement also be taken literally or interpreted in context? Words, especially humour has to be seen in its right context. I have always stood up for freedom within comedy including defending AIB's (All India Bakchod’s) infamous roast on numerous occasion in the past and that is my stance even today, so kindly stop tagging me in this debate."

Akshay is a Super Judge on the show. He made the remark when Mallika's fellow judge Zakir Khan asked Akshay that they will also accompany him to 'ring a bell' as a mark of appreciation for contestant Shyam Rangeela, who mimicked Prime Minister Narendra Modi.