Samay Raina’s India’s Got Talent Season 2 debut, featuring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, drew mixed reactions. While some viewers loved sections of the episode, many believed the program had lost its raw, uncensored comedy that made the first season so popular.
Comedian Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent Season 2 has begun off with Alia Bhatt and Sharvari as guests, but the first episode has been receiving mixed comments on the internet. Some fans complained shortly after it premiered that the second season lacked the raw energy that made the first season so successful, characterising the comedy as toned down, scripted and overly commercial.
The backlash occurred after Raina promised a “no filter” comeback and stated that the program will stay “same to same” despite its transition to Netflix and YouTube. He had stated that both platforms will air the program on the same day and with the same duration, with the only difference being that Netflix would have no commercials or comment area. A segment of viewers were harshly critical of the first episode.
One user wrote, “Lowkey I feel Samay Raina ka comedy aur dark humour season 1 me hi reh gaya.. The only joke is how he can’t make people laugh without aping the language with abuses. No gaali = No latent Season 2 is proof this dude has no actual comedy skills. Just cheap vulgarity for cheap claps from an equally cheap audience (sic).”
Another posted a long list of complaints, saying the episode had “No comedy”, “Unnecessary claps”, “Unnecessary laughs”, and that it “promoted Alia’s movie Alpha 50 times.”
The statement went on to say that the program constantly hyping up Alia as an actor and had become the “More PR than comedy”, turned into a promotional exercise, relied on forced audience reactions, repeated the same style of jokes and “tried too hard to create viral moments”. The user added, “This show proved that Samay Raina comedy isn’t much without abuses. Expected better after all the controversy and comeback (sic).”
Some viewers said a few jokes still worked. One user wrote, “#SamayRaina is back and how. He is taking a dig at #AliaBhatt’s Jigra, and Cannes Event- ‘Here all cameras will be on you.’ Alpha star Alia and Sharvari are attending the first episode of India’s Got Latent Season 2 (sic).”
One comment stated India’s Got Latent became a success because it was “raw, unfiltered and fearless” but the first episode of season 2 looked to be carrying weight and had lost part of the carefree charm.
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One viewer cited a spoof of Donald Trump as the episode’s highlight, writing that, “Bro really caused emotional damage with one line and got celebrated with a party popper. The second-hand embarrassment at that desk is loud enough to hear on mute. India’s Got Latent is purely unhinged (sic).”
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“Raina pre-launched the comeback with a video, where his buddy Balraj joked that he had betrayed the platform where he started by bringing the program to Netflix. In the same commercial Raina’s bodyguard remarked, “You have to do it for the money. Raina then jumped in and stated the program is coming on Netflix and YouTube on the same day and the same duration. He added that the format will remain unfiltered and the profanity will still be there.
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The official announcement came after a cryptic tweet from Netflix India featuring Raina’s bodyguard, which encouraged people to drop lemon and spice emojis in the comments. Raina was credited as a contributor on the post.
He introduced the second season at his stand-up show Still Alive but nothing was known about the project until the current teaser and release update.
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The new season has also returned under the shadow of the controversy surrounding Ranveer Allahbadia’s participation in season 1. The controversy started after a film of him asking a contestant if they would prefer to watch their parents having sex every day for the rest of their lives or participate in once and make it stop forever. Several FIRs were lodged against Allahbadia and the show’s producers, the National Commission for Women, intervened and eventually the Supreme Court provided him temporary protection from arrest while condemning the statements as obscene.
In Still Alive, Raina stated Allahbadia asked the parental question eight times during the recording and preserved just one in the final version, eliminating the others because he thought numerous responses unacceptable. He discussed the remorse and anxiety over the aftermath, including the death threats and legal notifications received by fellow comedians, and the burden it put on his parents.