Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent is facing fresh criticism after a recent episode featured a roast exchange involving Bihar and Kashmir.
The exchange between Raina and comedian Sharon Verma quickly spread online, with critics objecting to jokes about their regional identities and a response that was interpreted by some viewers as a reference to the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits. Political leaders and the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum have also criticised the exchange.
Others have viewed the segment differently, describing it as a two-way roast between comedians who were joking about their own backgrounds. The episode has therefore reignited an argument that has followed India’s Got Latent since its early days: how far can a comedy show go when its humour deliberately pushes boundaries?
The latest row is also significant because it comes after a series of controversies involving the show, including criticism over jokes about mental health, remarks by a contestant about Arunachal Pradesh, a walkout by Uorfi Javed and the much bigger legal controversy that followed an episode featuring Ranveer Allahbadia in February 2025.
TL;DR | News At a Glance
India’s Got Latent 2 is facing fresh criticism over a roast exchange between Samay Raina and Sharon Verma involving Bihar and Kashmir.
Critics have objected to references that they believe touched on sensitive issues, including the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.
Supporters have defended the segment as part of the show's roast-comedy format.
The latest backlash follows several earlier controversies surrounding India’s Got Latent since its launch in 2024.
Earlier incidents included criticism over a contestant’s joke about Deepika Padukone’s experience with depression and an FIR against another contestant over remarks about people in Arunachal Pradesh.
In December 2024, Uorfi Javed said she walked out of the show after contestants made derogatory remarks about her.
The biggest controversy came in February 2025 after Ranveer Allahbadia made an obscene remark during an episode. Raina did not make that remark, but faced scrutiny as the show's creator and host.
In a separate case concerning jokes about persons with disabilities, the Supreme Court quashed the FIRs and criminal proceedings against Raina and four other comedians on 14 August 2026.
The latest controversy has once again put the show's deliberately provocative style of comedy under scrutiny.
What happened on India’s Got Latent this time?
The latest controversy began with an exchange between Raina and Sharon Verma on India’s Got Latent 2.
Raina joked about Verma’s Bihari background while introducing her. Verma responded with a joke about Raina’s Kashmiri identity, and the exchange continued with references to Bihar, migration and Kashmir.
One of Verma’s responses was interpreted by some viewers as a reference to the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.
Clips of the exchange then began circulating on social media, prompting criticism from some viewers and public figures.
The Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum said the suffering and displacement of Kashmiri Pandits should not be treated as a punchline. Political leaders, including BJP MLA Ram Kadam and Shiv Sena UBT leader Anand Dubey, also criticised the exchange.
The reaction, however, has not been unanimous. Some viewers have treated the interaction as a roast between two comedians, with Verma's comeback itself receiving praise online.
That divide is at the centre of the latest controversy.
For critics, the problem is not simply that the comedians made jokes about Bihar or Kashmir. It is that the exchange touched on subjects connected to migration, regional stereotypes and a painful chapter in the history of Kashmiri Pandits.
For supporters, it was a comedy segment in which both performers were participating in the banter.
Why does India’s Got Latent keep attracting scrutiny?
The format of India’s Got Latent is central to the debate.
The show is built around stand-up performances, roasting, spontaneous interactions and deliberately edgy humour. Raina is the creator and host, while contestants, comedians and celebrity guests regularly participate in the exchanges.
That format has helped the show build a large audience, but it has also meant that some jokes have attracted criticism when they involve sensitive subjects.
There is another factor: social media.
A few seconds from a long episode can be clipped and shared independently. People who have not watched the full exchange can then encounter the controversial moment without the context in which it originally appeared.
That has happened repeatedly with India’s Got Latent.
The Deepika Padukone controversy
In November 2024, a contestant on the show made a joke about actor Deepika Padukone’s experience with depression.
The clip drew criticism online, with viewers accusing the contestant of trivialising mental health. Raina and other panellists were also seen reacting to the performance, which added to the criticism surrounding the episode.
Raina later responded to the backlash on social media, using humour to address the controversy.
The incident became one of the earliest examples of the tension surrounding India’s Got Latent. The show's fans appreciated its willingness to go where conventional comedy often does not. Critics questioned whether certain subjects should be treated as material for jokes at all.
The Arunachal Pradesh controversy
Another controversy involved contestant Jessy Nabam, who is from Arunachal Pradesh.
During an episode, Raina asked Nabam whether she had eaten dog meat. She responded by saying that people in Arunachal Pradesh eat dog meat and that some of her friends also eat their pets.
The remarks drew criticism, and an FIR was subsequently filed against Nabam over allegations that the comments were derogatory towards indigenous people of Arunachal Pradesh.
The distinction is important here too. The controversial comments were made by the contestant, not Raina.
However, because the exchange took place on his show, the incident became another part of the wider debate over the content and responsibility associated with India’s Got Latent.
Why Uorfi Javed walked out
In December 2024, Uorfi Javed appeared on India’s Got Latent as a guest.
She later said that contestants had made derogatory remarks about her and that she walked out of the show. Javed criticised what she described as abusive and demeaning comments made during the episode.
Javed also made it clear that she did not want to blame Raina personally for what happened.
The episode nevertheless raised another question about the show's format: whether contestants can use the freedom of a roast to make personal remarks about guests, and where the responsibility of the host begins.
February 2025 changed the conversation
The controversy that transformed India’s Got Latent into a national story came in February 2025.
An episode featuring Ranveer Allahbadia, Samay Raina, Ashish Chanchlani, Apoorva Mukhija and others went viral after Allahbadia asked a contestant an obscene question involving their parents.
The remark triggered widespread public outrage, multiple police complaints and legal proceedings. Allahbadia subsequently approached the Supreme Court seeking relief in connection with the cases.
There is an important distinction when discussing Raina's role in that controversy.
The controversial question was asked by Ranveer Allahbadia, not Samay Raina.
Raina nevertheless came under scrutiny because the exchange took place on India’s Got Latent, which he created and hosted.
The episode was subsequently removed from YouTube, and Raina announced that he was taking down the show's episodes.
The controversy also led to a much wider debate about online comedy, obscenity and the limits of free expression. The Supreme Court, while hearing Allahbadia's case, criticised the nature of the remarks and questioned the claim that freedom of speech gave people unrestricted licence to make such comments.
For India’s Got Latent, it was a turning point.
The show was no longer being discussed only as an edgy comedy format. It had become the subject of police investigations, court proceedings and a national debate over the limits of online entertainment.
The disability-related case
A separate legal controversy later centred on jokes about persons with disabilities on India’s Got Latent.
The Cure SMA Foundation of India approached the Supreme Court over content that it said mocked people with disabilities.
The case resulted in proceedings involving Raina and other comedians associated with the content. The Supreme Court subsequently directed them to undertake initiatives aimed at promoting awareness and the dignity of persons with disabilities.
There were further proceedings in 2026 over compliance with the court's directions.
However, the latest legal position needs to be stated clearly.
On 14 August 2026, the Supreme Court quashed the FIRs and criminal proceedings against Raina and four other comedians in the disability-related matter. The court took note of the efforts undertaken by those involved to promote awareness and dignity for persons with disabilities.
So, while the case became another major chapter in the scrutiny around India’s Got Latent, it should not be described as an ongoing criminal case against Raina after the Supreme Court's August 2026 order.
Why Samay Raina remains at the centre of the debate
It would be inaccurate to say that every controversial remark associated with India’s Got Latent was made by Raina.
Some were made by contestants. Others came from guests or fellow comedians.
The Ranveer Allahbadia controversy is the clearest example. Allahbadia made the remark that triggered the initial backlash, while Raina faced scrutiny because the incident took place on his programme.
But Raina occupies a different position from most people who appear on the show.
He is its creator and host, and his own approach to comedy helps define its tone.
That means controversy around the programme naturally brings attention back to him, even when the specific remark under discussion was made by somebody else.
The latest Bihar-Kashmir row is slightly different because Raina himself was an active participant in the exchange with Verma.
That distinction matters when assessing the criticism.
Why the latest controversy matters
The latest backlash is less about one isolated joke and more about the recurring question surrounding India’s Got Latent: how much should comedy be allowed to push boundaries when the subject involves a community's identity or history?
Fans of the show see its unpredictability and irreverence as its biggest strengths.
Critics argue that being a comedy show does not automatically make every subject fair game, particularly when jokes touch on mental health, disability, regional identity or historical trauma.
The two positions can coexist. A comedian can intend a remark as a joke, while an audience member can still find it offensive.
That tension has followed India’s Got Latent since its first season.
And with Season 2 now back on YouTube, the latest Bihar-Kashmir controversy shows that the debate around Raina's comedy has not gone away.
For India’s Got Latent, pushing boundaries remains part of the appeal.
The question that keeps returning is where that boundary should be.
