A video of Samay Raina is going viral on social media — this time, for all the right reasons. The stand-up comedian recently attended the launch event of the cyber-awareness short film Digital Arrest and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem, organised by Maharashtra Cyber in Mumbai on Wednesday. The event was a star-studded affair, with actors including Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre, Javed Jaffery and Mangesh Desai, along with singer Sunidhi Chauhan, in attendance. However, it was Raina’s quirky comments that stole the show. He joked about the irony of the situation, given that the cyber police, who were after him last year, had now invited him to felicitate him.

Raina, who was felicitated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for his contribution to cyber-awareness short film, praised Maharashtra Cyber’s helpline number 1930 before taking a cheeky dig at his own past association with the department.

“Thank you for the felicitation, sir. My association with Maha Cyber has been going on for a very long time,” he said.

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The remark immediately sent the room into laughter, including actors Sharad Kelkar and Pankaj Tripathi, who were seated on either side of him. Fadnavis too was seen bowing his head and laughing, seemingly anticipating where Raina’s joke was headed.

 

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The comedian continued, “1930 is really a great number. I have actually saved it because I often get calls from there.”

He was referring to the controversy that erupted in February 2025 after controversial comments by Ranveer Allahabadia on his YouTube show India’s Got Latent went viral.

Raina went on to praise the cyber cell for its efficiency, saying, “The Maha Cyber Cell is very active. I can tell you this for sure — whether you are in the US or India, they will catch you. They are brilliant. This is for the first time when a cyber cell officer went to a comedian’s house, picked him up, and felicitated him.”

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The comment was met with another round of applause and laughter from the audience, including the chief minister.

In another video from the event, Raina was seen being felicitated by Fadnavis when he spotted a plate of biscuits kept on the chief minister’s table. He picked one up and cheekily asked, “Can I take this?” Fadnavis immediately replied, “Haan, bilkul,” before breaking into laughter. The room soon echoed with laughter as well.

 

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The celebrities were felicitated for their contribution to the Digital Arrest cyber-awareness short film and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem. Fadnavis also shared pictures from the event on social media.

In February 2025, an episode of Raina’s India’s Got Latent sparked massive controversy after Ranveer Allahabadia asked a contestant an inappropriate “would you rather” question involving their parents. The episode drew widespread backlash, with critics accusing the show of crossing the line from edgy comedy into obscenity.

Multiple FIRs were subsequently filed against Raina, Allahabadia and Apoorva Makhija, among others, following which they issued public apologies. Raina also deleted all episodes of India’s Got Latent from YouTube and stayed away from the public eye for a period.

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He eventually returned to the stage in April 2026 with his stand-up special Still Alive, before bringing back India’s Got Latent for its second season in association with Netflix.