Comedian Sunil Pal has criticised the felicitation of Samay Raina at a cyber-awareness event in Mumbai. A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis honoured Raina for his contribution to a state-led cybercrime awareness campaign, Pal questioned the decision and remarked, “ghor kalyug aa gaya hai”.
In a video posted on Thursday, Pal questioned why Raina was being felicitated despite the controversy linked to India’s Got Latent. Referring to what he described as “dark times”, he used an old OK soap advertisement to make his point, saying, “Jo OK sabun se nahaye, kamal sa khil jaye, ab woh ulta ho gaya hai.”
Pal also took issue with the language used on India’s Got Latent, claiming that both contestants and panellists regularly used abusive language. He said the show had a format where “the participants abused, the panel abused”, adding that the language was so objectionable that it was difficult to listen to or repeat in front of others.
However, Pal’s primary concern appeared to be the message the felicitation could send to young comedians. He suggested that aspiring performers might interpret the sequence of events as a formula for gaining recognition: become a comedian, use offensive language, face police action, attract media attention and eventually return to the limelight.
He further argued that such a trajectory could create the impression that controversy can lead to success, with people who previously faced official action eventually being honoured and even receiving protection from the same system that had earlier scrutinised them.
Watch his video here:
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Pal’s comments came shortly after Raina himself joked about his previous encounters with Maharashtra Cyber during the felicitation ceremony. In his speech, Raina poked fun at his interactions with the agency and even jokingly asked Fadnavis for “a biscuit”, drawing laughter from the audience. Pal, however, was clearly unimpressed.
What happened with India’s Got Latent?
Pal’s criticism comes more than a year after the controversy surrounding India’s Got Latent erupted in February 2025. An episode featuring podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia sparked widespread outrage after he made a sexually explicit comment involving parents and sex to a contestant.
The episode resulted in several complaints and FIRs against Allahbadia, Raina and others linked to the programme.
Maharashtra Cyber later summoned Raina for questioning. At the time, he was in the US and requested permission to give his statement through video conference, but the agency instructed him to appear in person. Raina eventually appeared before the cyber cell in Mumbai.
The controversy eventually brought India’s Got Latent to a stop. Raina deleted the show's episodes from YouTube and largely remained away from the public eye while the legal proceedings continued.
More than a year later, Raina made a very different public appearance. On August 26, he returned to Mumbai to receive an honour from the Maharashtra government for his contribution to a cyber-awareness short film and anthem.
The event also featured several prominent personalities from the entertainment industry, including actors Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre and Javed Jaffrey, as well as singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Mangesh Desai.
