Bollywood Roasted, No Outrage Yet: Aamir's 450 interviews for 'SZP' to Abhishek's troll years & more

Bollywood stars are used to being worshipped, dissected, or trolled but not roasted in front of their peers without someone somewhere crying foul. Comedy has become such a tightrope act in India that even the slightest jab often snowballs into hashtags, boycotts, and cancel campaigns.

Yet, in a rare twist, a comedian took open shots at actors at a film festival and instead of outrage, there was laughter in the room.

Sapan Verma turns IFFM into a Comedy Stage

At the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, comedian Sapan Verma wasn’t in the mood to hold back. He stepped onto the stage, looked at a room packed with film stars, and decided everyone was fair game. His jokes weren’t whispered behind closed doors, they were delivered right to the faces of the people involved.

First up was Aamir Khan, who has been tirelessly promoting his directorial venture Sitaare Zameen Par. Verma teased that Khan had given “450 interviews” already and even poked fun at his decision to bypass a giant OTT deal for a YouTube release. The real kicker came when Verma cheekily compared that 100 crore deal to what Akshay Kumar supposedly makes in a single month. The audience chuckled, and the room stayed warm instead of hostile.

Abhishek, Aditi, Jaideep and Malaika Get Their Share

Abhishek Bachchan, present at the event, got a gentle roast too. Verma congratulated him on completing 25 years in films, but then broke down those years with surgical precision: 15 in theatres, 7 on streaming platforms, and 3 spent battling trolls on Twitter. Abhishek, sporting his trademark grin, played along.

Next, Verma turned to Aditi Rao Hydari, slipping in a joke about missing her recent wedding, before moving to Jaideep Ahlawat. The Pataal Lok star was praised and teased in the same breath, as Verma confessed that Ahlawat’s portrayal of Hathiram Chaudhary was so intense it made him both terrified and strangely attracted.

Malaika Arora also got her moment, with Verma joking that now that she was attending a film festival abroad, paparazzi pages in Mumbai must be on an unplanned vacation. The punch landed because it was so obviously true, Malaika’s every coffee run has usually kept paps employed back home.

A Comedy Nod to Vir Das

No roast could be complete without acknowledging another comic in the house. Verma saved one of his sharpest quips for Vir Das, calling him an “elder brother” and promising to issue apology statements on his behalf. He ended the dig by pointing out that it felt unusual to meet Das at a film festival since their paths usually cross in comedy clubs or police stations. The hall roared.

Why This Night Felt Different

Comedy has long lost its freewheeling bite in Bollywood gatherings. Gone are the Filmfare Award nights when Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan would gleefully roast the industry with lines that would trigger a trending boycott today. The atmosphere has changed, edgier, less tolerant, and far less fun.

That’s why Verma’s routine at IFFM feels like a reset button. Here were major names being openly teased, in their presence, without defensive meltdowns or choreographed outrage. The jokes weren’t brutal, but they weren’t sanitized either. For a night at least, film stars seemed willing to laugh at themselves.

Whether this signals a change in how comedy is received or just a rare exception remains to be seen. Outrage in India often runs on a delay, what feels harmless today could still get dissected tomorrow. But for now, Verma pulled off something that hasn’t happened in a while, reminding Bollywood that laughter at its own expense can still be the healthiest reaction.

What is your take on these jokes and do you anticipate any outrage coming in soon? One might wonder if this happens or not.