Samay Raina's India's Got Latent episode sparks controversy over remarks

Comedian Samay Raina released another episode of India's Got Latent, Season 2, on Friday.

MUMBAI: Comedian Samay Raina released another episode of India's Got Latent, Season 2, on Friday, with parts of the show later circulating on social media. The episode has drawn attention over alleged remarks about people from Bihar and Kashmiri Pandits made during an interaction involving Raina and stand-up comedian Sharon Verma.

The exchange began when Samay introduced Sharon to the audience in his usual style, making a joke about her Bihar background. He said, “She is from Bihar. She is so Bihari; she thinks ‘ebola’ means someone said something.” Sharon responded with a joke targeting Samay’s Kashmiri roots, telling him, “Samay is so Kashmiri; he loves getting stoned.”

Samay continued the banter, adding, “Sharon Verma is a Bihari who came to Mumbai in search of a job. Just Bihari things.” Sharon then said, “At least, I left my state by my choice.”

BJP MLA Ram Kadam criticised the alleged remarks and said they were made for publicity. "There are certain forces in society that deliberately make controversial statements simply to gain publicity. Their sole objective is to become famous. We need to understand that the deities of Sanatan Hinduism and Kashmiri Pandits cannot be treated as subjects of ridicule."

"Someone cannot deliberately do something offensive and then simply apologize afterwards. In the meantime, they get the publicity they wanted across the country for free," he added further again.

The episode also featured actress and television personality Archana Puran Singh and social media personality Orhan Awatramani, popularly known as Orry, on the panel. During the show, Raina also took a dig at Archana while speaking to a contestant.

A contestant named AR Tiwari performed Bhojpuri shayari on the show. When Raina asked him what he did apart from shayari, the contestant said he also danced, vlogged and rapped.

Raina then used the mention of vlogging to joke about Archana, who regularly shares family vlogs. He told the contestant, "Did you say vlog? Vlogging doesn't need talent".

Archana was quick to respond. Giving Raina a sharp comeback, she said, "gaaliyan dena talent hai (abusing is talent)." Her response was met with cheers from the audience, while Raina did not immediately have a comeback.

The latest episode comes amid renewed attention on India's Got Latent, with clips from the show frequently being shared and discussed on social media.