Indian-origin stand-up comedian dies while performing in Dubai
Dubai: An Indian-origin stand-up comedian died on stage due to high level of anxiety while performing his act in front of a packed audience here, according to a media report.
Manjunath Naidu, 36, suffered a cardiac arrest while performing his routine on stage on Friday.
He complained of high level of anxiety, sat down on the bench next to him and collapsed onto the floor, with audience thinking that it must be a part of the show, Khaleej Times reported.
Naidu was born in Abu Dhabi but later shifted base to Dubai.
"He was the last act in the line-up. He went on stage and was making people laugh with his stories. He was talking about his father and family. And then he got into a story of how he suffers from anxiety. And a minute into the story he collapsed," Miqdaad Dohadwala, his friend and fellow comedian, was quoted as saying in the report.
People thought it was part of the act. They took it as a joke as he was talking about anxiety and then collapsed, he said.
Dohadwala said that the paramedics could not revive him. "His parents passed away and he has a brother but no relatives here. All in the arts and comedy circle are his family," he added.
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Mamata demands PM's apology over 'Bankim da' remark in Lok Sabha
Cooch Behar (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he has insulted novelist Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay by calling him "Bankim da".
Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar district, Banerjee said the PM was not even born when the country achieved Independence and yet chose to address one of Bengal's greatest cultural icons casually.
"You did not even show him the minimum respect he deserves. You should apologise for this, to the nation," she said.
The flashpoint was PM's reference to the author during a discussion in Lok Sabha on Monday to commemorate 150 years of the national song, Vande Mataram, written by Chattopadhyay.
TMC MP Saugata Roy objected to the use of the suffix 'da' and urged the PM to say 'Bankim babu' instead.
Modi immediately accepted the sentiment, saying, "I will say Bankim 'babu'. Thank you, I respect your sentiments," and asked in a lighter vein whether he could still address Roy as 'dada'.
Targeting the BJP, Banerjee claimed that it will destroy Bengal's culture, language and heritage if it comes to power in the state.
She also claimed that the assembly elections in the state will be declared soon after publication of the final electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, so that no one can challenge it in court.
