Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent returns: Meet the 11-lawyer legal team backing the show

Stand-up comedian and YouTuber Samay Raina's comedy talent show India's Got Latent has returned for a second season with an 11-member legal team.

When India's Got Latent returned for its second season last week, viewers expected the focus to be on the contestants, celebrity panelists and Raina's trademark humour. Instead, one of the most talked-about parts of the episode appeared in the closing credits: an 11-member legal team.

The credits for the show, which premiered on Netflix before being uploaded to YouTube on June 20, carried a lengthy legal team section featuring around a dozen lawyers.

The legal department quickly drew attention online, with many social media users joking that the legal team appeared larger than several production departments combined.

The credits list Hirani & Associates as the show's legal team. The firm is a Mumbai-based practice that specialises in intellectual property, media and entertainment law, as well as litigation advisory.

Leading the team is Lavin Hirani, the firm's managing partner. He has more than 15 years of experience in the media and entertainment sector and has advised producers, studios, broadcasters and celebrities on both transactional and contentious matters.

His work includes content acquisition, production and distribution agreements, copyright-related transactions, script and content clearances, intellectual property ownership reviews, talent contracts, endorsements and media-related disputes.

The legal team credited on the show also includes Advocates Anjana Menon (Principal Associate), Karisma Shah, Varun Gopala Krishnan (Senior Associate), Prachiti Joshi, Niharika Tiwari, Ishan Puranaik, Suhavi Arya, Shrawasti Verma, Clint Thattil, Shreya Divyanshika Kumar and Siri Gudupati.

Several members of the team specialise in areas such as digital entertainment production, intellectual property law, media and entertainment law, trademarks and technology policy.

Lawyers involved in entertainment productions do far more than respond to lawsuits after a controversy erupts. Their responsibilities often also include:

• Reviewing scripts and content for legal risks;

• Clearing intellectual property rights;

• Drafting contestant and talent agreements;

• Advising on platform compliance requirements;

• Handling licensing arrangements;

• Reviewing advertising partnerships;

• Assessing potential exposure to claims relating to obscenity, defamation, privacy or copyright infringement.

For a show now being distributed on both Netflix and YouTube, legal review may also involve ensuring compliance with different platform policies and content standards.

The extensive legal backing comes more than a year after India’s Got Latent became the centre of one of India’s most talked about digital-content controversies.

In February 2025, remarks made by podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia popularly known as "BeerBiceps" during an episode of India’s Got Latent triggered widespread outrage. Multiple first information reports (FIRs) were registered in different states against Allahbadia, Raina and other other participants associated with the show.

Multiple proceedings relating to the show continued through 2025, including cases concerning remarks made on the programme and broader discussions on regulation of digital content.

The Supreme Court subsequently heard several petitions connected to the controversy, while questions were raised about obscenity, online content standards and the limits of free speech. The controversy eventually resulted in all episodes of season one being taken down and prolonged legal scrutiny.

Against this backdrop, the presence of a large legal team in Season 2 appears to reflect a more structured legal review process and risk management before content reaches audiences.

A year after the controversy forced India’s Got Latent off the internet and into courtrooms, Season 2 is back.

The team of 11 lawyers credited perhaps offers a glimpse into how the makers have approached the show's return after significant legal battles and public scrutiny.