The applause had barely faded when a large crowd began gathering around Ranveer Allahbadia. Some wanted a quick selfie with ‘BeerBiceps’, others simply wanted to tell him they admired his work. Minutes earlier, the YouTuber had wrapped up a city event organised by FICCI FLO Bengaluru.
As the crowd slowly dispersed, he addressed one of the most talked-about chapters of his career: the 2025 controversy surrounding the show India’s Got Latent, involving comedian Samay Raina. Looking back at the episode, Allahbadia says he no longer spends time revisiting what could have been done differently. “I had maybe a day or two where I thought, ‘Oh my God! What just happened! Could I have changed something?’ But I’ve learned over time that there’s no point regretting the past. What really matters is the present and the future. This whole year, my self-narrative has been very simple: the past is fiction. The past can’t be edited, so focus on the chapter you’re writing now,” he states.
Notably, following the row, the YouTube show was called off, and the episode, which triggered a backlash over obscure remarks, was taken down. Allahbadia had also rendered an apology hours after the issue made headlines. Despite the media attention, the 32-year-old underlined that his relationship with Raina remains intact. “He’s a good friend. On a human-level, relationships come before professional equations. I’ve had a very good personal relationship with Samay for a long time, even before the show, and that doesn’t change because of what people say,” Allahbadia shares.
The backlash, however, did take an emotional toll on those closest to him. “My mom went through a tough time,” he reveals, adding, My family got a little shaken up. But they are fighters. I think everyone feels stronger and resilient after going through something like that.”
The months that followed gave him an opportunity to step back and reassess his priorities. Meditation, fitness and the time away from the constant churn of online life helped him recalibrate. Explaining the result and work that’s going behind his idea for the future, he explains, “Over the last 10 years, almost 100 per cent of my time was spent on content creation. Now it’s closer to 60 or 70 per cent because I’ve shifted a lot of my focus towards building. I’ve built businesses. What I feel most wholesome and grateful about is creating jobs. In an AI-oriented world, where people are losing jobs. I feel it’s the responsibility of Indian entrepreneurs to keep creating new ones.”
Earlier on stage, speaking to Dekyi Yangtso Chawla, chairperson of the women-led business network, Allahbadia had touched on the same theme – to prepare young Indians for a rapidly evolving economy. “My theory is that there are a few domains that can’t really be replaced,” he says. “First is AI itself. Learning how to use AI better. Second is media, because that human element of being on screen or communicating with people is very hard to replace. And the third is soft skills.” These ideas are also part of Skillhouse, his latest venture, which aims to train young Indians in communication, etiquette and global professional skills.
Years of interviewing celebrities, billionaires and spiritual leaders on his podcast, he says, have altered the way he thinks of public narratives. “The way we perceive the world often depends on those narratives and it’s not always the objective truth,” he adds.
Having navigated his own share of turbulence, Allahbadia now believes setbacks are rarely the end of the story. “This will probably become a key part of the movie that’s made about your life one day. So just flow through it, learn from it and come out stronger,” he faintly smiles as he signs off.