When ‘controversy’ becomes a medium to earn the ‘mic-drop’ momentum, comedy loses its nuances. Just a few days back, I was doing humble research on how we differentiate comedy and tragedy. The inference that I drew, is, of many contrasts between tragedy and comedy, the foremost are these: in comedy, the fortunes of men are middle-class, the jeopardies are slight, and the ends of the action are happy; but in tragedy, everything is the opposite -the characters are great men, the fears are intense, and the ends catastrophic.
But the irony here is that the current episodes of ‘comedy’ that we see online, are tragedies in disguise. Everyone is in this maddening urge to create momentum and go viral. Eventually hurting sentiments, creating ruckus online, and churning out the most obnoxious message to the youth. Especially when everyone is asking everyone to ‘normalise’ everything, our psyche starts to think that profanity is fine, buffoonery is cool.
Well, they are cool, when done with good, ‘delicate’ taste! Most of the time, it goes missing… why? Because of a lack of empathy. Intellect and instinct both play as interdependent factors here. Look at Vir Das’ ‘Two Indias’ for example. So well-crafted satirical monologue. Yes, it drew criticisms, complaints, but every time we go back to what Vir Das has said and put it on a comparison mirror; Das’ monologue acts as a reflection of our society.
India’s Got Latent holds a mirror to the ethos of modern content creation: rapid, relentless, and reckless. But the onus is on its creators to ensure that this mirror doesn’t distort into a grotesque caricature of society. If Samay Raina and his team fail to reclaim the soul of their show—if they continue to prioritize the fleeting highs of controversy over the enduring impact of meaningful humour—then their legacy risks being written not in laughter, but in lament. Comedy must challenge, but it must also heal. Right now, India’s Got Latent is succeeding at the former while failing catastrophically at the latter
Human engagement matters. Not everyone is able to take dark humour, especially the Indian audience. And here is where India’s Got Latent got a negative hullabaloo.
India’s Got Latent is a clever parody of India’s Got Talent, inspired by the American comedy show Kill Tony, hosted by Tony Hinchcliffe, but with its own twist. Contestants perform their acts and rate their own performance on a scale of 1 to 10. Following this, the judges offer their scores, and if a contestant’s self-assessment matches the judges’ average score, they win all the ticket revenue from that episode. Additionally, the winner receives a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh, sponsored by the episode’s partner. With each episode drawing an average of 25 million viewers, the show’s popularity continues to soar, bolstered by Raina’s 6.7 million YouTube subscribers.
So, what was the hullabaloo about?
1. The recent “joke” about Deepika Padukone‘s depression is not merely insensitive; it’s a callous disregard for the very real suffering of millions. To trivialize clinical depression, a debilitating illness, for cheap laughs is not only tasteless but also deeply harmful. It perpetuates the dangerous misconception that mental health struggles are somehow less valid than physical ailments.
2. Samay Raina‘s recent attempt to joke about abortion rights is not only crass but also profoundly disrespectful. By reducing such a critical and personal issue to a flippant remark, he reveals a glaring lack of empathy and a troubling ignorance of the struggles women face in exercising their bodily autonomy. His comment trivializes abortion, a deeply consequential decision, turning it into little more than a punchline, and further entrenches harmful, outdated attitudes.
Samay Raina, a comedian who once championed intelligent humour, now presides over a spectacle that seems more intent on trading empathy for virality. The show, while cleverly conceived, suffers from a glaring flaw: it prizes shock over substance, controversy over craft, and outrage over originality
3. Uorfi Javed recently revealed that she walked out of Samay Raina’s show India’s Got Latent after being subjected to derogatory remarks and body shaming by two contestants, who abused and humiliated her in front of a live audience. While she clarified that she holds no ill will towards Raina, the incident highlights a larger issue with the show’s culture. The fact that such disrespectful and harmful behaviour is allowed to unfold on stage is deeply troubling. By giving a platform to contestants who resort to personal attacks and degradation for the sake of “fame,” the show inadvertently normalizes toxicity and misogyny. It raises the question: why does a show that purports to entertain and celebrate talent, actively encourage the kind of behaviour that degrades and victimizes individuals for mere spectacle?
In the sprawling digital coliseum of “India’s Got Latent,” where jesters perform not for art but for algorithms, the line between satire and insensitivity has blurred into oblivion.
Samay Raina, a comedian who once championed intelligent humour, now presides over a spectacle that seems more intent on trading empathy for virality. The show, while cleverly conceived, suffers from a glaring flaw: it prizes shock over substance, controversy over craft, and outrage over originality.
The recent incidents—be it the callous jibes about depression, the flippant remarks on abortion rights, or the public humiliation of a guest—paint a picture of a platform that confuses provocation with progressiveness. Raina’s stewardship, rather than curating wit with nuance, appears complicit in fostering a culture where boundary-pushing devolves into boundary-breaking. When comedy begins to exploit the struggles of the vulnerable or demean individuals for spectacle, it ceases to be art; it becomes an instrument of harm.
India’s Got Latent holds a mirror to the ethos of modern content creation: rapid, relentless, and reckless. But the onus is on its creators to ensure that this mirror doesn’t distort into a grotesque caricature of society. If Samay Raina and his team fail to reclaim the soul of their show—if they continue to prioritize the fleeting highs of controversy over the enduring impact of meaningful humour—then their legacy risks being written not in laughter, but in lament. Comedy must challenge, but it must also heal. Right now, India’s Got Latent is succeeding at the former while failing catastrophically at the latter.
