A year after controversy over his YouTube comedy show India’s Got Latent, comedian Samay Raina has returned with his comedy special Still Alive, where he took digs at his critics including Sunil Pal and Mukesh Khanna.

Raina said his comedy style is rooted in irreverent humour and adopting a cleaner persona feels forced. “Playing a clean character is unnatural for me,” he said.

He linked this to the backlash around India’s Got Latent, particularly involving Ranveer Allahbadia. “Ek clean banda kabhi kabhi h*rami nahi ban sakta internet pe,” he said.

“Non-vegetarian veg kha sakta hai, vegetarian non-veg khayega ulti hi karega,” Raina added.

Talking about the India’s Got Latent controversy, Raina claimed that an FIR was filed against Allahbadia for stepping outside his established image, jokingly referring to him as “the monk who sold my Ferrari” and blaming him for derailing the show.

He said the backlash stemmed from breaking a persona built over time.

“Hum Kashmiri crossfire me hi marte hain,” Raina said, adding, “It broke me like anything,” referring to his decision to take the show down in India.

He also said he received support from Pakistan after the show was removed.

Describing India’s Got Latent as raw and largely unscripted, Raina said, “Bohut gandi gandi baatein keh dete the” to be funny, adding that he attempted to “play safe” through edits and post-shoot interactions with panelists.

Recalling the fallout, he said, “Sab aa gaye the khane hum ko — politician, celebrities, Sunil Pal,” adding that Pal advised him to learn from Kapil Sharma, who he joked was “khud agle episode me aa rahe the”.

Raina also took aim at Mukesh Khanna, quipping, “Shaktiman aa gaya tha yaar. Shaktiman se kaise ladenge,” in reference to Khanna’s iconic role.

He concluded by saying he could not have asked for a better end to India’s Got Latent Season 1, while hinting that a second season is likely to be released on YouTube soon.