Comedian Samay Raina’s India’s Got Latent has become a platform that gives contestants a newfound dose of fame, particularly those who manage to entertain the audience with their wit and personality. The latest contestant to grab the spotlight is Chello Meme, an influencer from Arunachal Pradesh who stole the show with her sharp roast of Samay before going on to win the episode and take home the ₹1 lakh prize.
Who is Chello Meme?
Chello Meme is an Instagram influencer who first went viral in 2021, when she was just 19. She made headlines after sharing a video alleging that she had been repeatedly inappropriately touched by a man, identified as Shafikul Rehman, at ISBT Guwahati in Assam.
Chello, who was travelling to New Delhi via Guwahati to attend the National Youth Parliament 2021 as a representative of Arunachal Pradesh, confronted the alleged offender when he attempted to leave. In the video, she was seen calling him out and saying, “Aap jaise ladko ki wajah se rapes hote hain aur dusre ladko ka naam badnaam hota hai. Tumhe sharam nahi aata? maa-behan nahi hai ghar par? Tumhari behan ko koi aisa kiya toh? Because of people like we are afraid that guys would do something to us.” The man was subsequently seen apologising to her and others with folded hands.
The video quickly went viral, with social media users praising Chello for confronting the man and applauding her courage. At the time, she was a Political Science student and had secured the top position at Arunachal Pradesh’s State Youth Parliament event, earning the opportunity to represent the state at the National Youth Parliament in New Delhi.
During the event, Chello spoke about the idea of a ‘self-reliant India’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi later praised her speech and shared a video of her on X, formerly Twitter. He wrote, “I am glad to see the passion among our youth to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. Know what Chello Meme from Arunachal Pradesh has to say…I wish her the very best for her future endeavours.”
Chello later found another wave of popularity on Instagram after sharing her love for Pepsi and revealing that she drinks the soft drink with almost every meal. The brand eventually sent her a gift hamper containing a sipper, a T-shirt with “pepsi paglu” written on it and several cans of Pepsi.
Chello continues to share snippets from her daily life along with fun and relatable content on Instagram. She had around 77,000 followers before appearing on India’s Got Latent, but her stint on the show has since boosted her following by around 21%, taking it to approximately 93,600 followers.
Chello Meme’s stint on India’s Got Latent season 2
The influencer performed a rap about Northeast India on a recent episode of India’s Got Latent 2 and impressed everyone with her performance. Later, while the panel was interacting with her, Samay asked her what people in Arunachal Pradesh say about him, to which Chello replied, “Kuch nahi bolta aapke baarien main (No one says anything about you). I am saying genuinely. I am just saying the truth.” She repeated the same stance throughout the episode whenever Samay asked her about it.
She then showed off her ability to move her biceps, just like Salman Khan did in Bodyguard. Chello revealed that people in Arunachal Pradesh have good things to say about Salman. Samay then challenged her, “I’ll put a show in Arunachal Pradesh and you see it will be sold out.” To this, Chello replied, “Then I don’t know if they will understand your jokes.”
Samay later asked Chello to give him a shoutout so that people in Arunachal Pradesh would know him, to which she asked, “But what should I say?” Samay then asked, “Are you here to slaughter me?” Chello replied, “I am here to take revenge for all those people.” When Samay further asked her to say something bad about another fellow panellist, Chello said, “No, I say only to those who deserve it.” Her remark left everyone in splits, with the audience cheering for her. Archana even quipped, “Welcome to Samay Raina’s roast.”
Following this, while the other panellists gave her a 10 out of 10, Samay gave her a 5 for her performance. This brought the judges’ average score to 9. Chello had also given herself a 9, which helped her win the episode. She took home ₹1 lakh, two AI Nova+ phones and 50,000 coins on the District app.
The internet has since been gushing over Chello roasting Samay on his own show, with many viewers calling her a star.