A roast exchange on the latest episode of India’s Got Latent Season 2 has turned into a political and civic controversy after comedians Samay Raina and Sharon Verma traded jokes about Bihar and Kashmir.
The exchange initially played out as the kind of quick, personal back-and-forth the show is built around. But once clips began circulating online, some viewers and political figures interpreted the jokes — particularly Verma’s final comeback — as touching on the displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley.
What Was Actually Said
The exchange began with Raina introducing Verma, who is from Bihar, with a jab at her home state. “She is so Bihari; she thinks ‘Ebola’ means someone said something,” Raina said. Verma immediately turned the joke back on Raina’s Kashmiri background: “Samay is so Kashmiri, he loves getting stoned.”
Raina continued, joking about Verma leaving Bihar for Mumbai in search of work. “Sharon Verma is a Bihari who came to Mumbai in search of a job,” he said. Verma then delivered the line that became the centre of the controversy: “At least I left my state by my choice.”
In the room, the exchange appeared to be received as part of the roast format, with the audience laughing and Raina himself reacting to Verma’s comeback. But online, the last remark was interpreted by critics as an allusion to the forced displacement of Kashmiri Pandits.
The Context That Makes the Joke Sensitive
The reaction cannot be understood without the history behind it. From around 1990, amid rising militancy, targeted killings, threats and insecurity in the Kashmir Valley, large numbers of Kashmiri Pandits fled their homes.
Estimates of the number displaced vary considerably depending on the source, but the exodus became one of the most painful and politically contested chapters in Kashmir’s recent history.
Many families spent years — and in some cases decades — living away from ancestral homes, including in displacement camps in Jammu and elsewhere.
More than three decades later, the questions of return, rehabilitation, security and loss of property remain unresolved for many members of the community.
It is against that background that Verma’s line about leaving a state “by choice” was interpreted by some viewers as more than a regional joke.
The J&K Peace Forum’s Objection
The strongest formal criticism came from the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum. Its chairman, Satish Mahaldar, argued that comedy should remain free but must also recognise the weight of historical suffering.
“We believe that comedy must have freedom, but freedom must also carry responsibility. Bihar is not an insult. Kashmir is not a punchline. And the displacement and suffering of Kashmiri Pandits cannot be reduced to a convenient joke, social-media clip or publicity moment,” Mahaldar said.
The forum also pointed out that Raina has previously spoken about his own family’s experience of displacement from Kashmir, something it said made the exchange particularly difficult to reconcile.
At the same time, Mahaldar stressed that the forum was not seeking censorship. Instead, it called for greater sensitivity while warning against allowing the controversy to generate hostility between Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims, or between Kashmiris and Biharis. “Kashmir’s history is complicated and its future must be built on truth, reconciliation, justice and mutual dignity,” he said.
Political Reaction Goes Beyond the Forum
The controversy also drew reactions from political leaders. Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Singh Malik said comedians should remain conscious of regional sentiments and argued that remarks hurting the feelings of people from a particular region were wrong.
BJP MLA Ram Kadam took a harder line, arguing that controversial remarks are sometimes used to generate publicity and saying that Kashmiri Pandits should not be reduced to subjects of ridicule.
Other leaders also criticised the exchange, describing regional stereotyping as irresponsible. But the political reaction was not entirely one-sided. AAP leader Sanjay Singh urged people not to exaggerate the controversy, reflecting the view that the exchange should not automatically be treated as a larger social or political confrontation.
That disagreement is important because it reflects the larger debate surrounding the episode: whether the exchange should be understood primarily as roast comedy between two performers comfortable joking about their own identities, or whether some historical experiences remain too painful to be used casually as punchlines.
Who Is Sharon Verma?
Sharon Verma is a stand-up comedian and internet personality whose comedy frequently draws on her Bihari identity and everyday stereotypes surrounding it. She gained wider attention during the first season of India’s Got Latent, where her self-deprecating humour and “weak independent woman” routine went viral.
Her growing visibility eventually brought her back to the show as a panellist in Season 2 alongside Raina. Before moving into comedy, Verma worked in creative and copywriting roles, including positions associated with Disney+ Hotstar, The Rabbit Hole and Hashtag Orange, according to her publicly available professional profile.
Has Either Comedian Responded?
As of publication, neither Samay Raina nor Sharon Verma has issued a detailed public response to the criticism from the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Forum. The controversy therefore remains centred not on an apology or defence from the comedians, but on a larger question about where audiences draw the line between self-referential humour and historical trauma.
Comedy often works by exaggerating identity, discomfort and stereotypes. But in this case, the reaction shows that when those jokes intersect with forced displacement, migration and unresolved collective memory, the audience may hear something very different from what was intended in the room.
Whether that makes the joke unacceptable or simply controversial remains a matter of debate. What is clear is that the exchange has moved far beyond the stage on which it began.
