Ranbir Allahabadi and Samay Raina have found themselves at the center of a major controversy following the former's remarks on the show India’s Got Latent. The backlash has intensified to the point where multiple FIRs have been filed against them in various parts of the country. Amid the backlash, an old video of Samay Raina has also resurfaced, further fueling the controversy.
Viral video of Samay Raina
In the video, Raina is seen making crude jokes about a two-month-old infant’s medical condition. The video shows Raina mocking a medical condition affecting a two-month-old baby. He jokes about the necessity of a life-saving injection worth ₹16 crore and goes on to speculate about the parents’ reaction if they suddenly received such a large sum of money.
Raina is heard saying, "A two-month-old baby needs a ₹16 crore injection. If you were the mother and suddenly got ₹16 crore in your bank account, you would at least show your husband and say… inflation is rising." His remarks were followed by laughter from the live audience.
Taking the mockery a step further, he quips about the baby’s uncertain survival, adding, "If the baby doesn’t survive, how much money will be wasted? And if he survives after spending ₹16 crore only to grow up and say he wants to be a poet..." He then mimics the mother’s hypothetical reaction, drawing more laughter.
Backlash from netizens
Many social media users have strongly condemned the video, calling it distasteful and insensitive. While some argue that the audience also plays a role in encouraging such humour by consuming such content, others believe comedians fail to recognise boundaries until public outrage forces them to stop.
A user commented, "We are partly responsible for this. We watch their shows and laugh at such offensive jokes, enabling them."
Another added, "Some comedians don’t know where to draw the line. They lose all sense of empathy and eventually become immune to human suffering."
Another user wrote, “Those who continue to back Samay Raina should reconsider their actions before speaking. It is not a topic to giggle about. if you find it amusing, you are seriously ill.”
“He is what people now call an ‘influencer’. That people are laughing along with him as he uses a suffering two-month-old child as a prop for his ‘comedy’, shows the kind of influence he and other stand-ups have on those who seek humour in perversity,” read another comment.
“This boy who considers himself a stand-up comedian is so mentally ill that even an injection worth Rs 16 crores cannot cure his illness. Nor can it cure his sick listeners who are laughing out loud at his disgusting talk,” read another comment.
A few back Samay's comedy
Others backed Samay and asked people to not seek morality in comedy. “Why do people always seek morality in comedy??? If it is able to make people laugh, he is doing his job well. That’s it!! Comedy should just be used as a source of entertainment.”
“It's a hypothetical joke man, come on. The comedy of tragedy. It's like laughing when someone slips on a banana, or chaplins physical comedy This is just a type of comedy,” wrote another user.
Another user said the joke is on the absurd price, not the kid. "I have given this 16 Cr injection and I didn’t find this joke offensive. Infact laughed. Because dumbf**ks like you can’t understand that the joke isn’t about the kid or disease It’s about the absurdity of the cost of treatment. All you leechads just want the blue tick revenue," read the tweet.
Meanwhile, Samay’s request to give his statement via video conferencing since he is currently overseas has been rejected by Maharashtra Cyber cell. He has been summoned to appear and record his statement on February 18.
India's Got Latent controversy
The controversy erupted after Ranveer Allahbadia's made an inappropriate comment on Samay’s show India's Got Latent, which sparked widespread outrage. During the show, Allahbadia posed an unsettling question to a contestant, asking, "Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for the rest of your life or join in once and stop it forever?"
Following the backlash, Samay took to social media to announce that he had removed all episodes of the show from his channel. He wrote, “Everything that is happening has been too much for me to handle. I have removed all Indias Got Latent videos from my channel. My only objective was to make people laugh and have a good time. I will fully cooperate with all agencies to ensure their inquiries are concluded fairly. Thank you.”