Mukesh KhannaBest known for playing the iconic superhero ‘Shaktiman’, the comedian has been facing flak on social media after appearing in an ad with Samay Raina, whom he publicly and harshly attacked a few months ago on his YouTube show ‘India’s Got Latent’. The unexpected collaboration left many users questioning whether the actor’s earlier rant was genuine or just a play for attention.
What does advertising do? the time Raina and Mukesh Khanna show?
Samoy Raina shared the ad after the second season of ‘India’s Got Latent’ started. The clip opens on a phone call with Samay: “Thanks, yer. The show’s back now. As they say, darkness doesn’t last long.”The camera then shows Mukesh Khanna standing on Samay’s roof. Samay is surprised and asks, Sir, what are you doing on my roof?In a deliberate callback to his earlier public attack on the comedian, Mukesh replied, “Teri tedhi dum sidhi karne aya hu, saam raina.” He then added, “After three FIRs, you don’t seem to have learned any lesson. We need to blacken your face.” Taking a dig at Samay’s style of comedy, he says, “You live in India, but your jokes are American style.”Banter eventually pivots to a mobile phone campaign. Time closed the ad with a compromise, “Sorrowful, powerful.”
The internet reacted to the ad starring Samaam Raina and Mukesh Khanna
The ad didn’t get much response. Social media users were quick to call out Mukesh Khanna for what they saw as a brilliant look. A user wrote, “Shameless Mukesh Khanna is doing an ad with Raina. Where is his honor now??” Another pointedly asked, “Mukesh Khanna went from criticizing Samoy Raina to an ad with him. Respect or income?”Some viewed it through a more strategic lens. A user observed, “Time is now collaborating with Sunil Pal and Mukesh Khanna after they publicly criticized him for India’s Got Latent. The man truly understands the market and its needs.”Others were less forgiving of Mukesh. A netizen wrote, “Arrogant man! Looked like Mukesh Khanna with a face of shamelessness. This guy talked a lot about Samayer, but today I found out that all he wanted was fame!!”
What did Mukesh Khanna say earlier about Raina during ‘India’s Got Latent’?
Context makes collaboration more interesting. Back in April, Mukesh Khanna launched a scathing attack on Samay after he mocked her strong character in his show Still Alive.Taking to XK (previous Twitter), Mukesh wrote, “Kutte ki dum tedhi rehti hai. Lakh sheshio men rakho use karo. Bahar nikalo. Phir tedhi ki tedhi. Samam raina ki ve ek dum hai. Kitna ve maro, sidha karo, oho whats doasti tak. Kutil you can put it in a thousand tubes to straighten it, but the moment you curl it does, that time is like that tail, no matter how much you try to correct it, it always goes back to the same state).“He went further, adding, “Kyunki oo sidha prani na hai. Oh roasted prani hai. Gandagi ki aag mein jlaya hua. Pakaya hua. Pore desh ne latara, mara, phir vi a gaya besharmo ki tarah (Because he is not a straitlaced person. The fire of controversies and criticism scorned him all over the country and came down hard on him, yet he came back as brazen as before).“The comment came shortly after Samay publicly referred to “irrelevant people” for trying to grab the spotlight amid the ‘India’s got latent’ controversy. The collaboration between Mukesh Khanna and Sama Raina reflects a pattern that has attracted increasing attention; Public figures who criticize Internet creators often work with them, blurring the line between moral outrage and opportunism.
