# India's Got Latent

India's Got Latent was an Indian Hindi-language talent show hosted by Samay Raina on YouTube that provided a platform for contestants from across the country to showcase their hidden talents which were critiqued along with jokes being cracked by the panel as the contestants were cross-questioned by them. The show was inspired by the international Got Talent franchise and Kill Tony, featured a wide variety of acts, including singing, dancing, magic, comedy and others.
The show was called off by Samay and he made all the episodes private on YouTube on 12 February 2025 after a controversy sparked over obscene comments made by Ranveer Allahbadia and Apoorva Mukhija.

## History

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

## Format

The format of India's Got Latent follows a similar structure to other shows in the Got Talent franchise and that of Kill Tony. 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.
| Cast member | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Season 1 (2024) | Ref. |
| Ref. |||||||||||||||
| Cast member | 1 | 1+ | 2 | 2+ | 3 | 3+ | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10+ | 11 | Ref. |
| Samay Raina | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | |
| Balraj Singh Ghai | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | ● | | ● | ● | ● | | |
| Raftaar | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sahil Kale | ● | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Arpit Bala | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Anshu Bisht | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Joke Singh | | | ● | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | |
| Karan Singh | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Badshah (rapper) | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Siddhant Chaturvedi | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Gursimran Khamba | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Urfi Javed | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ashish Solanki | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Yashraj | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Avika Gor | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | |
| Devesh Dixit | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | |
| Shashwat Maheshwari | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | | |
| Maheep Singh | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
| Amit Tandon | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
| Neeti Palta | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | | |
| Kunal Kamra | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | |
| Atul Khatri | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | | |
| Vipul Goyal | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | |
| Sonali Thakker | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | |
| Nishant Tanwar | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | | |
| Saurabh Pandey | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | |
| Rahgir (singer) | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | |
| Ravi Gupta | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | | |
| Poonam Pandey | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | |
| Vidit Gujrathi | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | |
| Vivek Desai | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | |
| Sagar Shah | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | | |
| Manan Desai | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | |
| Deepak Kalal | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | |
| Agu Stanley Chiedozie | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | | |
| Raghu Ram | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | |
| Tanmay Bhat | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | |
| Dr. Sid Warrier | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | | |
| Rakhi Sawant | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ravi Gupta | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Yuzvendra Chahal | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ranveer Allahbadia | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Ashish Chanchalani | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Apoorva Mukhija | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Seedhe Maut | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | |
| Madhur Virli | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | |
| Kaustubh Agarwal | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | | |
| Bharti Singh | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
| Haarsh Limbachiyaa | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
| Drew Hicks | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
| Tony Kakkar | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ● | |
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

## Winner

* Deepak Yadav (DDSRY)
* Parneet Singh

## 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 Rs. 1.5 crore per month from YouTube memberships, with additional revenue generated from in-stream advertisements on each episode.

## Controversies
### Rakhi Sawant vs Maheep Singh

Rakhi Sawant threw a chair on stage after getting into an argument with comedian Maheep Singh on 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 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 Season 1, Episode 6, the judges endorsed derogatory remarks about disabled people.

### Banti Banerjee

Banti Banerjee was a contestant on Latent's Season 1, Episode 10. 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 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, one request: Could you please outrage in my YouTube comment section so I get some ad revenue 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, which included calling her a 'b*tch', comparing her with adult actress Mia Khalifa and 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 Bonus Episode 5, which debuted in June 2024, faced criticism over racist comments made about Arunachal Pradesh. Contestant Jessy Nabam, a native of the state, joked that her people consume dog meat, and sometimes even their own pets. This remark prompted a resident of Arunachal Pradesh to file a complaint, reportedly leading to an FIR being registered, which termed her comments as derogatory and defamatory 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, drawing sharp criticism from Malayalis across social media. 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 shows Bonus Episode 6 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, which led to an inquiry and the registration of an FIR against Allahbadia, as well as Apoorva Mukhija and comedian Samay Raina.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis commented on the incident, stating,
   I have come to know about it. I haven’t seen it yet. Things have been said and presented in the wrong way. Everyone has freedom of speech, but our freedom ends when we encroach upon the freedom of others... In our society, we have certain rules, and if someone violates them, it is absolutely wrong, and action should be taken against them,
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma 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 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 after the Karni Sena publicly declared its intention to physically assault her in protest of her actions if she arrived in the state.A Hindu far-right vigilante outfit in Gwalior issued a bounty of ₹100,000 (US$1,153 at that time) for violently assaulting Allahbadia.
The entire controversy around Allahbadia's comments was fanned by the India's pro-government right-wing media outlets into a moral panic about Gen-Z Indian youth being corrupted by decadant Western values via social media, as it appeared that Allahbadia had copied that infamous joke from an Australian YouTube channel called The OG Crew where it was directed by an Australian stand-up comedian Sammy Walsh towards another man 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, corruption, rape and pollution, 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 in the past. Newslaundry opines that the entire controversy was being overhyped by the pro-government media to detract critics of the government from government failures like the imposition of President's rule in Manipur over deadly ethnic clashes.
On 14 February 2025, a parliamentary committee wrote to the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting seeking laws to regulate digital content like podcasts & OTTs in the light of this incident. Supreme Court Judge Surya Kant 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 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.