You are quite popular with your videos on social media. How and when did it all start for you?
I used to work as an entertainment reporter and later worked in another media company. While I was writing for them, I started making videos as well for them. We started doing short format comedy sketch videos. And those really picked up. As they went viral on the internet, I started making videos independently for my own social media as well. And then that picked up. And ever since I have been doing this as a full time job. But I have always wanted to be an actor ever since I was young. I also participated in theatre in college. I really, really enjoyed performing and acting like another person and being another character. And that also kind of reflected a little in the content I used to make. I used to do a lot of character comedy and stuff also. And that led me to get this job, this acting job.
I will forever credit my content and my Instagram and the love that I have received on the platform for having facilitated this opportunity coming my way. It was a completely wild dream and I never thought that it would be possible. And this is how I got to realise it. It is completely bizarre and I love it. And I hope that the love that I have received on social media is also what I receive for my work in movies. And now that I am trying to do more acting roles. I hope that the people who have loved me as a content creator appreciate that transition and love me as an actor as well. This is my only hope. And I hope that I can work hard and I can do justice to all the love that I receive.
Your ‘Poo’ video is one of the most popular and loved ones out there. Which one according to you is your best one yet and why?
The Poo video was definitely one of my most viral videos. I still get stopped, asked and recognised for it. And I still get a lot of love for it. I really enjoyed making that video. It was a lot of fun. It was such a new experience for me as a person, as a creator to be recognised for it. And then I met Kareena Kapoor Khan recently at an event where I got to make a video with her. It was very surreal for me. It was a full circle moment for me.
I don’t know which is my best video. I love the Pintu character that I created. I liked the Bigg Boss video that I made. I have many favourites. I can’t pick one.
Have you been a movie buff in your growing up years? How did the acting bug bite you?
I have always enjoyed watching TV and movies. Even now I watch almost everything that comes out on OTT. I consume content like anything. It’s a little bit of a problem. Because then I am also just sitting and watching all this content. And not doing more work. I love Bollywood. I have grown up in Bollywood. I have grown up watching Yash Raj’s movies. And I never thought that I would get to be inside those gates of Yash Raj and get to be a part of a movie being made by Yash Raj. What a grand and what a fulfilling experience it ended up being. I had always wanted to act growing up. I loved being on stage. I used to like singing, dancing, and performing. I always thought that I wanted to be an actor. But there was no way for me to know how. Because I was in Kanpur. I have no connections in Bollywood or in the film fraternity. I come from a middle class family. I don’t have that kind of a background where a dream or aspiration like this was looked at very seriously. So I chose to go for a slightly more conventional career of becoming a writer and a journalist. But then things panned out the way they did. And I am so grateful for the internet. I am so grateful for social media. Because it birthed me. It gave me an opportunity to show myself and present myself and be loved. That got me this opportunity to act. Which I secretly always wanted. So I am just very glad with how things have worked out.
OTT has changed the way we look at content today. Your thoughts…
I would love to get work as an actor on an OTT platform. I would love to be part of very interesting stories that are happening on OTT right now. I have seen some really amazing things back-to-back very recently. There are ‘Guns & Gulaabs’, ‘Kalkoot’ and ‘Kohra that are amazing. There are so many new actors being given opportunities. And I just hope and wish that someday some really amazing audition I am able to crack. And get a really amazing, worthy part in a great OTT story. Because I feel like the time is now. And there are more opportunities. And I would love to seize it.
What’s next?
I just very recently wrapped shooting for a show called ‘Unreal’. I can’t talk much about it but it is an adaptation of the American show by the same name. Apart from that, I am currently auditioning for other things. I am hoping to get my next acting job. I am also very excited for September 22 because that’s the day ‘The Great Indian Family’ will be released. It’s my first ever film. I can’t wait to go to the theatre and watch it. I just hope I don’t cringe while watching myself in the movie. And I hope it’s loved by people who watch it. That’s all. I am feeling very positive and I am hoping for the best.