Alia Bhatt impressed fans with her quick wit during a promotional event for her upcoming film Alpha after she effortlessly handled a heckler from the audience using a comeback popularised by comedian Samay Raina on India’s Got Latent. The actor’s response quickly went viral, with social media users praising her sense of humour and even Samay himself applauding the moment online.
The incident took place during Alia’s visit to JECRC University in Rajasthan as part of the promotional campaign for Alpha. During an interactive session with students, one audience member asked Alia how she and her team agreed to appear on the famously unfiltered comedy show India’s Got Latent. As she listened to the question, another person from the crowd interrupted with a loud remark, saying, “Paisa!” implying that money was the reason behind her appearance on the show.
Instead of ignoring the interruption, Alia responded instantly with a smile. Borrowing Samay Raina’s now-viral line from the show, she quipped, “Kisne bola ye? Kisi gareeb aadmi ne,” loosely translating to, “Who said that? Probably some broke person.” The audience burst into laughter and applause, with the light-hearted comeback quickly becoming one of the most talked-about moments from the event.
The line has its origins in the premiere episode of India’s Got Latent Season 2, where Alia and her Alpha co-star Sharvari appeared as celebrity guests. During the episode, host Samay Raina had asked a contestant what women like the most in men. When someone from the audience shouted “money,” Samay had immediately responded with the same punchline, dismissing the stereotypical remark. The exchange was widely praised for calling out the sexist stereotype in a humorous way.
Alia’s decision to recreate the moment delighted fans of the show. Soon after the university shared the video online, the official India’s Got Latent account commented, “Too good!” Samay Raina also reacted with a one-word response, “Killl!”, signalling his approval of the actor’s spontaneous callback.
Not everyone, however, was convinced that the interaction was completely spontaneous. Some social media users speculated that the exchange may have been scripted to generate online buzz for Alpha. Comments questioning the authenticity of the moment soon appeared across X and Instagram, although there is no evidence to support those claims.
Alia has been actively promoting Alpha over the past few weeks and has often spoken about her experience filming India’s Got Latent. At another promotional event, she revealed that she laughed so hard during the shoot that her smartwatch mistakenly detected her laughter as a sign of distress. She also recalled watching an episode of the show during a flight and laughing so loudly that she accidentally woke up her daughter, Raha, who was sleeping beside her.
The actor’s appearance on Samay Raina’s show has already generated considerable attention. During the episode, Samay roasted Alia over everything from her film Jigra to her Cannes appearance, while the actor sportingly laughed along and responded with humorous comebacks of her own. Many viewers described her willingness to laugh at herself as one of the highlights of the season premiere.
Directed by Shiv Rawail, Alpha marks the first female-led film in the YRF Spy Universe. The action thriller stars Alia Bhatt alongside Sharvari, with Bobby Deol playing the antagonist and Anil Kapoor featuring in a pivotal role. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release on July 3 and is among the most anticipated Hindi releases of the year.