Satire: Enjoy Salim Bhai & His ‘Chikens’ by Gautam Benegal

Artist Gautam Benegal’s dark humour cartoons with Salim bhai & his ‘chikens’ will mess with your head!

Gautam Benegal and one of his cartoons.

Gautam Benegal

Gautam Benegal was a cartoonist for Westside Plus, a popular supplement for Times of India. Around the year 2006, a bird flu scare went viral and people stopped the consumption of chicken due to which the poultry business got affected.

There was a rumour that the then Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss smuggled in a tandoori chicken leg into the Lok Sabha and started eating it to prove that it was completely safe.

Benegal drew a cartoon of a chicken shop where one of the chicken boasts to another one showing the headlines, “Hey guys check this out, my second cousin, twice removed made it to Lok Sabha!” which was published on Facebook in 2009 and got huge response. This started Benegal off on the ‘A1 Chiken Sope’ cartoon series.

Benegal was unsure if he would be able to sustain an ongoing cartoon series on such a limited canvas, with just a cage, a few chickens, a light bulb, a signboard and a lugubrious looking owner called Salim Bhai. But, the ideas kept emerging with the change in India’s political landscape and these few props continued to create art that was much appreciated. Though his cartoons became darker and more scathing, Benegal was surprised to witness such a huge positive feedback from the Indian audience for black humour, raised as we are on a diet of inoffensive gentle cartoons.

Benegal does not publish the ‘A-1 Chiken Sope’ series in any mainstream media, because they are practically underground, and of course, according to him, this is a niche audience in India, the kind that would guffaw over Mad Magazine, Punch, or Spittin’ Image.

A lot of things which are taken in an offensive manner if spoken out in words are swiftly conveyed through these cartoons. And oh yes, over the years the ‘Chikens’ have acquired names – from the ones on Benegal’s friend list.

- With inputs from Gautam Benegal’s backstory on A1 Chiken Sope cartoons.

“We need your permission to prosecute you. Sign here.”It was a very absurd situation when, in 2017, the UP government decided to refuse sanction to prosecute Yogi Aditynanath for allegedly inciting communal violence in Gorakhpur in 2007.  How could the Chief Minister, who also happens to be the Home Minister accept or reject state police’s request to prosecute him? It is like an accused sitting on the judge’s chair.

“100% Electrification.”A sarcastic cartoon where the chickens are pointing at the light bulb claiming to have 100% electrification as they’re satisfied with what they have and not ready to look what’s beyond. Ek bulb jalta hai toh bahut hai.

“We homeschooled him.” The kind of training these chikens get starting from their childhood is like A for Aaptard, B for Bhakt, C for Chauraha, D for Damodar and so on. This is the kind of environment they are raised in and the effects of social media.

“Efficient Chikens”The chickens are so comfortable in the captivity that they are not running away even when the cage is damaged. Instead, they want to get it repaired. Once you become a part of this system, you don’t want to escape and dwell in it.

“Finally the Chikens get to watch ‘Padmaavat’ with pride.”The basic idea is the moustache, which is the Rajput sign of masculinity. The cartoon is picking on to that.

“True to his Facebook post earlier that day, Kamble was about to kick some serious ass.”On Facebook people speak a lot of things but only in the virtual world. In reality, they are still in the cage where whatever they claim to do are mere words and posts.

“There goes Sonu...recruited into the Militia.”You see a man who looks like a Walrus wearing shots and holding a stick in his hand, Mohan Bhagwat buying a chicken named Sonu, basically recruiting him to the Militia. The message that I wanted to convey is that your life is finished from the moment you join the RSS.