Starstruck? Really?

I had already visualized myself standing on the staircase of Le Jardin de Trocadero in Paris, from where the Eiffel tower would perfectly sit in the backdrop.

All I now had to do is pose, and luckily, my husband also seemed to be too focused on clicking some fun pictures of me.

But someone majorly distracted him. He could notice him askance, as this stranger rushed down the stairs. Not giving up, my husband reached out to the gallery where I was standing and called him out.

This one, looked up and waved confirming that he indeed was the Indian roast master Samay Raina. He obliged us with a selfie with him that way, and later asked us to come downstairs.

Looking at him, relaxed and not in a rush, we decided to go and get a selfie close enough with him.

So when is latent coming back - my husband asked

Ye to supreme court hi batayegi, he replied.

Not having a lot of context about him, I decided to share pleasantries and pose.

Who is he actually? And should I really consider myself starstruck? I kept thinking to myself.

He is a candid, fun, ok may be cringe considering the pictures he was posing for, with the roadside vendors in Paris.

In my opinion (not that it matters to him and his millions of viewers), he didn't only pass for a comedian, who cringed and cracked jokes which went below the belt a lot of times, roasts the guests on his show, uses abusive language heartily and nearly doesn't know when to draw a line at his jokes. And yet there seemed to be something special about this guy? I kept thinking to myself.

Intrigued to look for the answer to this, I watched his comeback "Samay Raina still alive" back home. This one was honest, fun and screamed of Samay's vulnerability. One thing led to another and I started following all other episodes on India's got Latent, while everyone in the family fell asleep at night.

I quietly giggled at the very relatable and usual bickering which happens between close friends. There are blatant insults charged at the guests on the panel who are no short of famous film stars and celebrities. It was slowly becoming a delight to watch them unmasked, not just take but crack jokes on their own selves.

The participants are self depreciative themselves because they aren't on the talent show, there isn't a pressure on anyone to be perfect. All they have to do is be able to match their self score to that of the judges and blurt out their inner feelings on being provoked. For all it matters they get the limelight on the stage for being audacious.

Lauded and cheered for being loud, disrespectful, bold and politically incorrect. What better platform for someone to be 100% unfiltered. And it isn't just the panel and the participants, the sponsors have been criticized, roasted and demeaned. The most depreciative and spontaneous person is cheered for, by none other than Samay himself. The goal is literally to out do the roast and bickering, not just each other.

Roasting undoubtedly is the love language between friends, but on the silver screen, and with strangers, more so with the who's whos of the country. This demands blatant audacity. AND THAT WAS MY ANSWER.

I, alongside millions of people, am guilty of silently enjoying the show. He is quietly becoming the household name in the loud world of comedy.

This guy is courageous enough to be candid and go against the tide of comic family shows. His spontaneity is worth watching, misleading and disgusting at the same time.

But at the end of the day, we are guilty of binge watching the show and make him who he is - well just someone with a net worth of about 200 crore and growing.

If one can excuse (or may be not) some really mean things he can say, this guy, Samay Raina undoubtedly qualifies to be a star for me. Not just for being audacious but for setting the stage for a roast show, a format which has been taken down more times than one, in a sentimental country like India.

About 10 episodes down at the latent show post my encounter, I finally choose to not just be starstruck by him but also give it up for him in the name of steady and brutal comebacks.