It’s been a tough last few months for YouTuber Ranveer Allahbadia, who has been at the centre of the India’s Got Latent storm. The 31-year-old said the controversy took a huge toll on him emotionally, financially, and professionally. It left his parents disappointed and let his team down.
Earlier this year, an FIR was filed against Mr Allahbadia, comedian Samay Raina, YouTuber Ashish Chanchlani, influencer Apoorva Mukhija, and Jaspreet Singh after a segment from the now-deleted YouTube show India’s Got Latent went viral. It showed Mr Allahbadia asking a sexually explicit question involving parents. The incident sparked public outrage, leading to multiple FIRs and investigations by Maharashtra and Assam police, with the National Human Rights Commission flagging it as harmful to minors.
In an Instagram Q&A session on Wednesday, Mr Allahbadia responded to a follower who asked what he had lost because of the incident.
He responded, “Lost: Health, money, opportunity, repute, mental health, peace, parents’ contentment & much more. Gained: Transformation, spiritual growth, toughness. Will slowly work towards getting back everything that’s lost. Let the work speak.”
On his biggest fear during the fallout, he shared, “That I let down the families of my team members because of my mistake. People don’t understand how many jobs are at stake. Quickly wrote off my career and hence the careers of 300+ people. Learnt very deeply about human nature. Mobs love seeing people fall. But we will keep moving forward. I’m not 100% okay even now. Have to give it my all because MANY livelihoods depend on my work.”
Asked about the impact on his family, Mr Allahbadia said, “This part of the chaos hurt the most. When your work, your actions have an impact on your loved ones. But both my parents are warriors. That’s where I get my mentality from! Was tough, but we are getting past it.”
Earlier in the year, as public anger mounted, Samay Raina took down all episodes of India’s Got Latent from his YouTube channel and assured full cooperation with authorities. He and Mr Allahbadia on Tuesday appeared before Maharashtra Cyber for questioning related to charges of obscenity under the IT Act and IPC.
Asked if he was in touch with Samay Raina post-controversy, Mr Allabadia replied, “Samay will be back. All of us have gotten closer after the events. Stand by each other in good times as well as in bad times. My brother is (already) a media legend. God is watching over all of us.” “Picture abhi baaki hai… [story isn’t over yet],” he added.
Sharing what he learnt from the “difficult time”, Mr Allahbadia advised, “Start Yoga early in life… A calm mind is earned. The calmness helped a lot. Tough chapters must be met with tough routines.”
He also revealed he hasn’t overcome the ordeal yet and much had been happening “behind the scenes”. “But God is with me, I know it,” he said.
Following the backlash, Mr Allahbadia also issued a public apology, saying, “Comedy is not my forte.” He had also approached the Supreme Court seeking protection from coercive action in the multiple FIRs filed against him.