India's Got Latent

Did You Know?

• According to Mint, the premiere episode of season 2 crossed fifteen million views within hours of its release.
• The show's first season was made private on February 12, 2025, after a controversy sparked by Ranveer Allahbadia's obscene comments.

History

India's Got Latent was launched on June 14, 2024, by Samay Raina on his YouTube channel, alongside an app for iOS and Android. The show and all its episodes were made private from YouTube on February 12, 2025, after a controversy sparked over alleged derogatory comments by Ranveer Allahbadia. In November 2025, Raina revealed plans to renew the show for a second season, following the resurfacing of clips on a different YouTube channel. In April 2026, he released a stand-up special titled Still Alive, remarking that his show's first season could not have ended on a higher note and confirming a second season. Speculation increased in June 2026 after Netflix India shared a promotional post featuring Raina's bodyguard, and Raina soon announced the show would stream on Netflix and YouTube, with the first episode releasing on June 20, 2026. The premiere featured Alia Bhatt and Sharvari as guest judges promoting their film Alpha, and according to Mint, crossed fifteen million views within hours. New episodes were announced to be released every two weeks on both platforms.

Format

The format follows a structure similar to other Got Talent franchise shows and Kill Tony. Contestants perform in front of a panel of judges who evaluate their acts. The show begins with a nationwide audition process where contestants upload clips online for review by a selection committee before being called for a stage performance. A unique aspect is the contestant rating system: before each performance, contestants rate themselves, and if the average rating given by the judge panel matches the self-rating, the contestant wins.

Summary of each season

The first season premiered on YouTube in mid-2024 as an independent digital comedy-reality show created, hosted, and self-produced by Raina. Conducted at The Habitat in Mumbai, the format required contestants to showcase raw, bizarre, or highly niche latent skills, followed by a self-evaluation round where they matched their score with the judge panel's average to win a cash prize. Over 12 episodes and 6 bonus episodes, the show built a massive internet cult following due to its dark humor, unfiltered contestant roasts, and a judge panel including comedians like Tanmay Bhat, Kunal Kamra, and Rohan Joshi. After a hiatus caused by backlash that led to the deletion of all first-season episodes, the second season premiered on June 20, 2026, in a landmark dual-platform simulcast on Netflix and YouTube. The premiere featured core panelists Samay Raina and Balraj Singh Ghai, along with Bollywood celebrities Alia Bhatt and Sharvari as guest judges.

Controversies

The show has received media attention for various antics. Rakhi Sawant threw a chair on stage after arguing with comedian Maheep Singh and made a derogatory remark about him, leading him to leave the stage; the episode was released as the twelfth episode on New Year's Eve 2024 after the scene was removed. During Santosh Patra's performance in the sixth episode, judges endorsed derogatory remarks about disabled people. In another performance, contestants made derogatory remarks about guest judge Urfi Javed, including slut-shaming and comparing her to adult actress Mia Khalifa, causing her to walk off the show; host Samay Raina did not intervene, and Balraj Ghai replaced her for the last two performances. Banti Banerjee, a contestant and winner of the tenth episode, made controversial remarks during her performance that sparked online debate and outrage. She referenced Deepika Padukone's recent motherhood and past struggles with depression, saying, '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 also said she was intentionally mocking the actor's depression due to her breakup. Raina responded by asking outragers to comment on his YouTube channel for ad revenue. Banerjee also referenced the 2024 Kolkata rape and murder, saying, 'Any Bengalis in the house? See, sab so rahe hain. Nahi. Thak gaye honge na candle march karte karte.'