Comedian Samay Raina was felicitated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday at an event in Mumbai where Maharashtra Cyber unveiled its cyber-awareness short film Digital Arrest and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem.
Samay, who contributed to both projects, thanked Fadnavis for the honour and joked about his “long-standing association” with Maharashtra Cyber, referring to the scrutiny he faced over his YouTube show India’s Got Latent.
“1930 is really a great number. I have actually saved it because I often get calls from there,” Samay said, drawing laughter at the event.
He added that the Maharashtra Cyber Cell is “very active” and joked that it would track people down wherever they are. Referring to the action taken against him in 2025, he said it was the first time a Cyber Cell officer had gone to a comedian’s home and picked him up, before adding that he was now being felicitated by the same agency.
Samay came under the Maharashtra Cyber Cell’s scrutiny in February 2025 over India’s Got Latent following controversial remarks made by guest podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia. Multiple FIRs were filed against Allahbadia, Samay and others associated with the show over allegations of promoting obscenity and sexually explicit content.
Samay was subsequently directed to appear before the Cyber Cell for questioning and eventually appeared in Mumbai, where he acknowledged his mistakes. The controversy also led to all episodes of India’s Got Latent being removed from YouTube.
The comedian later shared a video of his felicitation on Instagram, with fans calling it a “full circle moment”. Samay has since launched Season 2 of India’s Got Latent, with episodes being released on YouTube and Netflix.
Fadnavis stresses cybercrime awareness
The event was attended by several celebrities, including Ashish Vidyarthi, Pankaj Tripathi, Sharad Kelkar, Sonali Bendre, Javed Jaffrey, Sunidhi Chauhan and Mangesh Desai.
Speaking at the event, Fadnavis highlighted the importance of spreading awareness to combat cybercrime and said artists, actors and singers can play an important role in communicating such messages to the public.
The celebrities were felicitated for their contributions to the Digital Arrest short film and the 1930 Maharashtra Cyber Anthem.
