India's Got Latent was an Indian

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

-language

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

hosted by Samay Raina on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

from 2024 to 2025. Inspired by the international ''

Got Talent ''Got Talent'' is a British talent show TV format conceived and owned by Simon Cowell's Syco Entertainment. It has spawned spin-offs in over 60 countries, in what is now referred to as the 'Got Talent' format, similar to that described by Frema ...

'' franchise and ''

Kill Tony ''Kill Tony'' is an American live podcast stand-up comedy variety show created and hosted by comedian Tony Hinchcliffe and produced and co-hosted by Brian Redban. The show premiered on June 3, 2013, and has released a new episode every Monday ni ...

,'' it featured a wide variety of acts including singing, dancing, magic, and comedy. The show was eventually called off by Raina and all episodes were made private on YouTube on February 12, 2025 after a controversy sparked over some

obscene An obscenity is any utterance or act that strongly offends the prevalent morality of the time. It is derived from the Latin , , "boding ill; disgusting; indecent", of uncertain etymology. Generally, the term can be used to indicate strong moral ...

comments made by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia and social media influencer Apoorva Mukhija in the last episode.

History

India's Got Latent was launched on June 14, 2024 by Samay Raina on his YouTube channel. The show and all its episodes were removed from YouTube on February 12, 2025, after a controversy sparked over derogatory comments made by Ranveer Allahbadia. Samay Raina also launched an India's Got Latent app on iOS and Android.

Format

The format of ''India's Got Latent'' follows a similar structure to other shows in the ''

'' franchise and that of

. Contestants used to perform in front of a panel of judges, who evaluated their acts.

Auditions

The show begins with a nationwide audition process, where contestants from various cities and towns uploads there clip online while performing an act and is reviewed by the selection committee before getting called to the show for stage performance.

Winner mechanism

The unique aspect of ''India's Got Latent'' was its contestant rating system. Before each performance, contestants rated themselves. If the average rating given by the judge panel after the performance matches the contestant's self-rating, the contestant wins.

Judges and hosts

The judging panel typically consisted of celebrities from the Indian entertainment industry. Each judge provided feedback on the performances, while the host interacted with contestants and the audience. Note: "+" represents bonus episodes.

Famous contestants

* Naman Arora * Keshav Jha * Deepak Yadav (DDSRY) * Sharon Verma * Santosh Patra * Bhavya Shah * Anant Upadhyay * Kushal Bhanushali * Banti Banerjee * Jessy Nabam

Winner

Reception

''India's Got Latent'' has gained popularity for its diversity in showcasing talent from different regions of India. The show has been praised for its ability to discover unique talents that might not have been recognized in mainstream entertainment and also the amalgamation of various celebrities as judges which has proved to induce laughter and popularity. Latent was included in ''DNA'''s list of the top 5 crazy shows on YouTube in 2024.

YouTube earnings

Latent is estimated to earn over

crore Crore (; abbreviated cr) denotes the quantity ten million (107) and is equal to 100 lakh in the Indian numbering system. In many international contexts, the decimal quantity is formatted as 10,000,000, but when used in the context of the India ...

per month from YouTube memberships, with additional revenue generated from in-stream advertisements on each episode.

Controversies

Rakhi Sawant vs Maheep Singh

Rakhi Sawant Rakhi Sawant (also Rakhi Sawant Fatima; born Neeru Bheda; 25 November 1978) is an Indian media personality, actress and dancer, who has performed item numbers predominantly in Hindi films. Her notable film appearances have been in '' Chura L ...

threw a chair on stage after getting into an argument with comedian Maheep Singh on an episode of ''India's Got Latent''. Sawant also made a derogatory remark about Singh, after which he left the stage. The episode was eventually released on YouTube as the twelfth episode on New Year's Eve 2024, after undergoing the removal of the scene.

Derogatory remarks against people with disabilities

During Santosh Patra's performance in sixth episode, the judges endorsed derogatory remarks about disabled people.

Banti Banerjee

Banti Banerjee was a contestant and a winner on the tenth episode. During her performance, she made several controversial remarks that were initially endorsed by the judges and audience but later sparked an online debate and outrage.

Jokes on Deepika Padukone’s depression

During her performance, Banerjee referenced Deepika Padukone's recent experience of becoming a

mother A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ges ...

and her past struggles with depression:

''"Deepika Padukone also became a mother recently, right? Great. Now she knows what depression really looks like. Actual depression happens when your sleep breaks, and your kid wakes in the middle of the night at 3 am and the kid wants to eat, poop, or play, at any order."'' - Banerjee said in a viral clip.

She also said she was intentionally mocking the actor's depression due to her breakup. Latent's host Samay Raina also responded to outrage, by saying:

''"To everyone who is outraging on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
, one request: Could you please outrage in my YouTube comment section so I get some
ad revenue Advertising revenue is the monetary income that individuals and businesses earn from displaying paid advertisements on their websites, social media channels, or other platforms surrounding their internet-based content. In September 2018, the U.S In ...
from the traction, at least."'' - Raina wrote on Instagram.

Derogatory remarks towards Urfi Javed

During one of the performances on India's Got Latent, some of the contestants endorsed derogatory remarks on guest judge

Urfi Javed Uorfi Javed (born 15 October 1994; formerly Urfi Javed) is an Indian internet personality and television actress. Known for her unique fashion sense and social media presence, Javed began her career with roles in soap operas and rose to fame in ...

, which included calling her a 'b*tch', comparing her with adult actress

Mia Khalifa Mia Khalifa (; ; born 1993) is a Lebanese-American media personality and former pornographic film actress. Rising to prominence in late 2014, she became one of the most searched performers on Pornhub after a controversial scene featuring a ...

after having a verbal altercation with her over him faking a disability, which eventually led to her walking off the show. The show's main judge Samay Raina didn't intervene and Balraj Ghai was called in to replace her for the last two performances.

Derogatory remarks against people of Arunachal Pradesh

The fifth bonus episode, which debuted in June 2024, faced criticism over

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

comments made about

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

. Contestant Jessy Nabam, a native of the state, joked that her people consume

dog meat Dog meat, also known as fragrant meat or simply fragrant, is the meat derived from dogs. Historically human consumption of dog meat has been recorded in many parts of the world. In the 21st century, dog meat is consumed to a limited extent in ...

, and sometimes even their own pets. This remark prompted a resident of Arunachal Pradesh to file a complaint, reportedly leading to an

FIR Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

being registered, which termed her comments as derogatory and

defamatory Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

towards the indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh.

Derogatory remarks against people of Kerala

Comedian Jaspreet Singh has sparked significant outrage with a racist joke about

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

, drawing sharp criticism from

Malayalis The Malayali people (; also spelt Malayalee and sometimes known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian languages, Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala and Union Territory of Lakshadweep in India, ...

across social media in the sixth bonus episode and overall, the last episode of the show. This incident has since gained momentum, with many condemning the joke as offensive and derogatory to Kerala's literacy.

Offensive remarks by Ranveer Allahbadia and removal of the show

On 10 February 2025, podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia, popularly known as BeerBiceps, appeared as a guest judge in the sixth bonus episode alongside YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani, social media influencer Apoorva Mukhija, and Jaspreet Singh. During the episode, Allahbadia made a remark that sparked widespread controversy. He asked the following question to a contestant:

Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once to make it stop forever?

The remark led to significant backlash on social media. A police complaint was filed against Allahbadia for "promoting obscenity" and using offensive language. The complaint was submitted to the Mumbai Police Commissioner and the

National Commission for Women The National Commission for Women (NCW) is a statutory body of the Government of India, generally concerned with advising the government on all policy matters affecting women. It was established on 31 January 1992 under the provisions of Nation ...

, which led to an inquiry and the registration of an

against Allahbadia, as well as Apoorva Mukhija and comedian Samay Raina.

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

leader & Maharashtra Chief Minister

Devendra Fadnavis Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis (born 22 July 1970) is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra since 5 December 2024 with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as his deputies, and previously held this positi ...

commented on the incident, stating, Another BJP leader, Assam Chief Minister

Himanta Biswa Sarma Himanta Biswa Sarma (born 1 February 1969) is an Indian politician and lawyer serving as the 15th and current Chief Minister of Assam since 2021. A former member of the Indian National Congress, Sarma joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 23 Au ...

also announced that an FIR had been filed by the Guwahati police against the individuals involved in the incident for promoting obscenity and engaging in inappropriate discussions. On February 10, 2025, Allahbadia issued a video in which he stated that the controversial segments had been removed from the show, acknowledging that the attempt at humor was not well received. On February 12, 2025, Samay Raina removed all episodes of India's Got Latent from his YouTube channel, stating that he would fully cooperate with the authorities to ensure a fair inquiry. Following this, the

Maharashtra Police Maharashtra Police (IAST: ''Mahārāṣṭra Polīs Sēvā'', formerly '' Bombay State Police'') is the law enforcement agency responsible for the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is headed by Director General of Police, Rashmi Shukla (IPS), an ...

filled a complaint against Samay Raina and Ranveer Allahbadia for "creating obscene content" and airing it on the shows YouTube channel. Apoorva Mukhija reported on social media about receiving threats of being raped & murdered on her social media accounts due to her presence at that episode. She was dropped from the list of guests for the International Indian Film Academy awards in

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

after the Karni Sena publicly declared its intention to physically assault her in protest of her actions if she arrived in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

. A far-right Hindu outfit in

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

declared a bounty of 1 lakh INR to cut off Allahabadia's tongue. Mukhija also exposed about death and rape threats, as well as acid attacks from several trolls for her conduct in an interview and sharing screenshots months later. The entire controversy around Allahbadia's comments was fanned into a

moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usually perpetuated by moral e ...

by India's pro-government media about Indian youth being corrupted by inherently decadant

Western values Western values refer to the set of social, political, and philosophical principles that have developed in the Western world, particularly in Europe and North America, and have influenced global culture, governance, and ethics. These values, whil ...

via social media after it appeared that Allahbadia had copied that infamous joke from an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n YouTube channel called ''The'' ''OG Crew'' where it was directed by an Australian

stand-up comedian Stand-up comedy is a performance directed to a live audience, where the performer stands on a stage and delivers humorous and satirical monologues sometimes incorporating physical acts. These performances are typically composed of rehear ...

Sammy Walsh towards Alan Fang, two weeks before Allahbadia endorsed it on the show. Some critics have also accused the law enforcement authorities and judiciary of using the controversy as a smokescreen to divert attention from other pressing problems, such as

unemployment Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work du ...

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

and

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

, & the imposition of President's rule in

Manipur Manipur () is a state in northeastern India with Imphal as its capital. It borders the Indian states of Assam to the west, Mizoram to the south, and Nagaland to the north and shares the international border with Myanmar, specifically t ...

due to

ethnic riots An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...

, and questioned the hypocrisy of the judiciary and police about not taking any legal action against political figures who have made derogatory comments about women & hate-speech in the past. Concerns have been raised that the controversy might be used by the BJP government to tighten

internet censorship Internet censorship is the legal control or suppression of what can be accessed, published, or viewed on the Internet. Censorship is most often applied to specific internet domains (such as ''Wikipedia.org'', for example) but exceptionally may ...

in India IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

. On 14 February 2025, a parliamentary committee wrote to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting seeking laws to regulate digital content like

podcast A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...

s & OTTs in the light of this incident. Supreme Court Judge

Surya Kant Surya "Sury" Kant is a Senior Advisor at Tata Sons Private Limited. He was the Chairman of TCS North American operations based in New York City until March 2022. Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS) is the largest global information techno ...

has remarked that "there is nothing like a fundamental right on a platter," stating that citizens must fulfill their "duty" in order to enjoy their fundamental rights. On 3 March 2025, Ranveer Allahbadia was allowed by the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

to resume airing his podcast on YouTube "The Ranveer Show", on the condition that he will maintain decency on his show. On 7 March 2025, Allahbadia was shown to be dragged by officers of Guwahati Police, after he appeared to give his statements following warrants and summons; the maltreatment by dragging was heavily criticized by several netizens. On 8 March, 2025 the Gauhati HC granted anticipatory bail to Ashish Chanchlani in the matter.

References

External links

Official Website
* {{IMDb title, id=tt33094114, description=(2024) 2020s Indian television series 2024 Indian television series debuts 2025 Indian television series endings Got Talent Indian English-language television shows Indian comedy television series Indian game shows Indian reality television series Indian stand-up comedians Indian stand-up comedy television series Indian television series based on British television series Roast (comedy) Talent shows Obscenity controversies in television Race-related controversies in television Television controversies in India Variety television series Television shows filmed in India 2020s YouTube series 2020s YouTube controversies Online obscenity controversies Performing arts contests Competitions in India 2020s variety television series Hindi-language web series Indian comedy web series 2024 web series debuts 2025 web series endings Controversies in India 2025 controversies