A few days ago, hardly anyone outside his social circle knew who Himanshu Jangra was. Today, his name is everywhere across Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Reddit, and YouTube.
And it all started with a plate of chicken biryani worth around ₹370.
What began as a crowd-work moment during comedian Pranit More's show has snowballed into a nationwide conversation about dating, consent, modern relationships, and the kind of jokes people are willing to laugh at.
The comment that sparked the storm
The controversy traces back to a viral clip from one of Pranit More's crowd-work shows.
In the video, audience member Himanshu Jangra shares a story about going on a date. According to him, he and the woman had chicken biryani that cost around ₹360-₹370. Later, when she asked him to drop her home, he made a remark suggesting he needed to "recover" the money he had spent. The audience laughed, and Pranit More reacted by calling it a "Peak Gurgaon moment."
The clip was initially posted as a funny crowd interaction.
The internet didn't see it that way.
Why people got upset
For many viewers, the issue wasn't the biryani.
It was the mindset behind the joke.
A large number of social media users felt the comment implied that spending money on a date somehow creates an expectation of something in return. Critics argued that the remark reduced dating to a transaction rather than a mutual experience.
The backlash grew quickly.
Women across social media began posting reaction videos, memes and sarcastic reels questioning how a ₹370 meal could be viewed as an "investment" that required a return.
Suddenly, "₹370 ki biryani" wasn't just a joke anymore. It had become shorthand for entitlement in dating.
The bigger spotlight fell on Pranit More
Interestingly, a lot of the criticism wasn't directed only at Himanshu Jangra.
Many people also questioned why Pranit More laughed along instead of challenging the remark.
Social media users argued that comedians often influence how audiences interpret situations. Had the joke been called out immediately, they felt the reaction online might have been very different.
As criticism mounted, Pranit More issued a public apology.
He acknowledged that he should have handled the moment differently and said the comments did not reflect his personal views. He also stated that the clip had been removed from his platforms because he did not want to normalise or amplify such remarks.
How social media flipped the narrative
What made this controversy unusual was the way women online responded.
Instead of lengthy debates, many used humour.
Creators posted videos joking that ₹370 wouldn't even cover basic beauty products, fuel costs, or everyday expenses. Others sarcastically thanked men for revealing their mindset so openly.
The internet did what the internet does best.
Within hours, the phrase "₹370 ki biryani" had become a meme.
Some people made jokes. Others made serious commentary videos. Relationship experts weighed in. News portals covered the story. Even people who had never heard of Himanshu Jangra before suddenly knew exactly who he was.
Why this story went so viral
The reason this clip exploded isn't really about biryani.
It's because it touched a nerve.
Almost everyone has experienced awkward dating expectations, entitlement, or misunderstandings around who pays for what. The clip reopened a conversation that already existed beneath the surface.
Questions started flooding social media:
Does paying for dinner create expectations?
Should dates always split bills?
Why do some people still treat dating like a transaction?
Where does consent fit into these conversations?
The viral moment became less about one person and more about larger attitudes around relationships.
Who is Himanshu Jangra?
Ironically, despite becoming one of the most talked-about names online this week, very little public information about Himanshu Jangra was widely known before the controversy.
He wasn't a celebrity, influencer, politician or public figure.
He was simply an audience member whose comments during a comedy show ended up reaching millions of people online. The internet then did what it often does - turning a few seconds of footage into a national talking point.
The lesson from the ₹370 biryani saga
The controversy may eventually fade, but the conversation probably won't.
For many people, the viral clip highlighted how easily problematic ideas can be disguised as humour. For others, it was a reminder that what gets laughed at on stage often says something about what society is willing to accept.
And perhaps that's why this story travelled so far.
Because in the end, it was never really about a ₹370 plate of biryani.
It was about the reactions that followed it.
One offhand comment, one viral clip, and suddenly the entire internet was debating respect, dating culture, consent, and where comedy should draw the line. That's quite a lot for a plate of biryani to carry.