A little over a year after India’s Got Latent shut following a controversial remark on parents by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, Samay Raina made his comeback last night. No, he didn’t announce the dates and timing of India’s Got Latent 2. He sat in front of a live audience and addressed everything that had been spoken about him in the past year. He shared behind the scenes into the ‘parents’ remark that didn’t sit well with the audience. He also spoke about how comedian Sunil Pal and actor Mukesh Khanna reacted to the controversy. The show is one of the top trends on the internet and has amassed 11 million views (and counting) ever since its release on April 7.
Samay Raina’s ‘Still Alive’ show goes viral
“Samay Raina is back after a year”, read the logline on the comedian’s Instagram handle. The show, which is available for streaming free of cost on YouTube, has clocked 11 million views (at the time of publishing the article) in less than 24 hours of its release.
Expressing his gratitude, he said, “Overwhelmed by the response to my new special – Still Alive. Thank you so much for giving me your time and love, I am beyond grateful. I love you and I dont have any words right now except that I am just grateful to you for the love.”
What did Samay Raina say about Sunil Pal and Mukesh Khanna that is going viral?
Looking back at the controversy, Samay Raina said it felt like everyone had turned up to take a dig at him – from politicians and celebrities to Sunil Pal. He recalled Pal even telling him to take notes from Kapil Sharma, joking that Kapil himself was set to appear in the very next episode.
He also took a playful swipe at Mukesh Khanna, referring to his iconic Shaktiman image. “Shaktiman aa gaya tha yaar. Shaktiman se kaise ladenge,” he said, half in jest, hinting at how overwhelming the whole situation felt then.
What did Samay Raina say about Ranveer Allahbadia?
Recalling what happened during the controversial India’s Got Latent controversy, Samay said, “Main tumhe maa ki kasam sach batata hoon. Uss episode main Beer Biceps ne woh sawaal 8 baar poocha tha. Aur iske alawa bhi kayi ant shant sawaal poochhe the usne. Toh ab jab maine edit dekha na, maine kaha, ‘Yeh toh bohot gandi baatein kari hain isne (I swear on my mother, I’m telling the truth. In that episode, Beer Biceps asked that question eight times. Besides that, he also asked several other inappropriate questions. So when I saw the edit, I said, ‘He has said some really terrible things’).”
He went on to explain how he handled it during editing, adding, “Chalo ek rakh deta hoon, baaki sab hata deta hoon (Alright, I will keep one and remove the rest). From my point of view, I had removed 99 per cent of the inappropriate content,” Samay said this in his style.
For those unaware, that one controversial question led to multiple FIRs being filed against Samay, Ranveer and the show’s organisers. The situation escalated to a point where he eventually had to take down all episodes of the show from YouTube. Samay Raina has now hinted that a second season of India’s Got Latent might be announced soon.
Also read: Samay Raina on Ranveer Allahbadia’s controversial ‘parent’ remark: ‘Woh sawaal 8 baar poocha tha’
