Days after releasing his stand-up special Still Alive, comedian Samay Raina has shared an unfiltered account of how the India’s Got Latent controversy changed him, personally and professionally.

In a deeply honest conversation with Vaibhav Munjal, Raina revisited the backlash that erupted in February 2025 after Ranveer Allahbadia made controversial remarks on the show. What followed was a storm of outrage, protests, and FIRs that pulled multiple creators, including Raina, into the spotlight.

But while the internet debated and reacted, Raina says he was quietly falling apart.

“Balraj has seen me. I was like a dead body. I was just zoned out… depersonalised, detached from the world.”

The conversation was recorded at Habitat in Mumbai, run by his friend Balraj Ghai, a place that now carries emotional weight, as it was also where the controversial show was filmed. For Raina, the aftermath wasn’t just about public perception; it was an internal struggle that left him disconnected and overwhelmed.

At one point, even recording an apology became an impossible task.

“I recorded that apology nine times… At that time, I was just doing whatever people were saying. I was just f***ed.”

The emotional toll followed him into his work commitments too. During a Canada tour, 10 shows in 10 days, in cities like Edmonton and Calgary, with temperatures dropping to –27°C, Raina says he hit his lowest point. Without his friend Balraj by his side, he found himself isolated, exhausted, and constantly breaking down.

“I was dead at that time. I was just crying all the time. I was just f****ng demotivated. I would just be in my room.”

And yet, it was during this period that something shifted. Instead of withdrawing completely, Raina began writing. What started as a coping mechanism slowly turned into Still Alive, a special he now calls his most meaningful work.

“I was in so much pain... Otherwise it takes a year or two to write a special. I wrote this special in two months, readied it, tightened it, and went on tour with it.”

He wasn’t alone in the process either. Comedians like Vir Das and Tanmay Bhat played a crucial role in helping him stay grounded. While Vir Das encouraged him to channel everything into writing, Tanmay Bhat stayed in constant touch, concerned about his well-being.