NEWSFEEDZONE

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call Bhuvan Bam a ‘one-man army’ for introducing a range of characters — Sameer Fuddi, Titu Mama, Babloo, Janki, Banchod Das, among a dozen others — all played by him in his vine that gave him instant fame back in 2015. He not only enacted each of these characters in the selfie video, but also written, shot, and edited them to suit the platform, becoming the first Indian individual YouTuber to cross 10 million subscribers. Six years since then, the comedian, writer, singer, songwriter, and YouTuber, through his channel
BB Ki Vines, who has seamlessly been able to create a ‘BB universe’ of sorts in the digital world, dreams of acting in Bollywood films someday.

“Of course, Bollywood is a dream,” says Bhuvan, adding, “I don’t know if I will ever get a chance to work in a Bollywood film, but I want to be on the sets of Manoj Bajpayee sir’s film, watch him act and have chai with him. He is someone who inspires me a lot. Unse milkar aise laga ki mujhe inke jaisa banna.” Meanwhile, the 27-year-old has released his show ‘Dhindhora‘ on his YouTube channel where his audience is getting to see a full-fledged version of the characters that they were familiarised with through his vines. Bhuvan believes the reason why his content clicks with the audience is that they find these characters, inspired by his personal life and situations are enacted in an exaggerated way, are quite familiar and relatable.

^{Bhuvan Bam in Pune}

Pic: Shashank Sane

After having carved a niche for themselves on social media and YouTube, a countries content creators are gravitating towards OTT platforms that are helping them reach a global audience. However, Bhuvan, who acted in a short film called ‘Plus Minus’ alongside Divya Dutta, feels it is important for content creators to stay connected to their audience through YouTube despite branching out to OTT. “I was born on YouTube, and I feel, it’s my responsibility that my audience gets free access to my content. It would be unfair if my audience suddenly has to pay to watch my content, therefore, releasing my show on YouTube was a conscious decision, says Bhuvan, adding, “Your audience has a been part of your journey from the start and made you who you are. Although OTT platforms have a global reach, one doesn’t have the loyalty to these platforms, whereas, on YouTube, the audience has subscribed to your channel to watch your content and you got to offer them that.”

^{Bhuvan Bam poses for Pune Times}

While looking back on his own journey and of those born on the internet, Bhuvan says it feels surreal that content creators are now treated like stars and celebrities. “I feel, social media has been extremely revolutionary because it has changed how entertainment and talent are looked at. Back in the day when someone had to showcase their talent, they had to stand in a queue, give several rounds of auditions, and even after that, they weren’t sure if they had been selected or people thought they were good enough. Social media has blurred those lines and removed that barrier wherein someone else would decide if you’re talented or not. Today, you simply shoot your video, edit them on free software and applications and upload them on platforms. Not only do these platforms give you a reach, but also pay you,’’ says Bhuvan, stressing how social media has democritised the entertainment space for artistes. He adds, “Ab koi kisi ka mautaj nahin hai. Ab aisa nahin hai ki koi humein kaam dega tabhi hum kar payenge. Hum khud hi content banakar upload kar dete hai. Logon ko accha lagta hain, to reach badhti hai. The only downside? There is a content creator in every house (laughs!). I feel the pandemic has further encouraged people to trust the internet and explore the space more than ever before.” However, the YouTuber adds that his journey has been a roller-coaster ride.
“Kabhi lagta hai chalega, kabhi lagta hai nahin chalega. Karen ya naa karen, isi kashmash meri aadhi career nikal gayi (laughs!)” he adds.

Bhuvan, who has been making people laugh with jokes, often becomes the butt of jokes because of his surname ‘Bam.’ “
Ab unko kya dosh doon gharwaalon ne aisa naam hi diya hai? People think it is his stage name. The name on the electricity bill says I’m Boom. People in school called me jhandu bam. What can you do about it? I try to emphasise the pronunciation,” he adds.

^{Our lensman captured Bhuvan in the city}

Bhuvan’s comedy has resonated with millennials, and the comedian feels that the use of simple and colloquial language and situations used in his videos have worked for him. However, he has consciously stayed away from jokes on politics and topics that are considered ‘controversial’ in India. “
Career shuru hote hi samajh gaya that ki kuch cheezon se door rehna hai. I stay away from doing comedy on politics, religion, and don’t indulge in ‘insult comedy’. I am no expert on politics or religion so why crack jokes on them and offend people. There are about 19-20 characters in my vines and they insult each other which the audiences find funny and I get to express my creativity through them.
Waise bhi India me content ki kam nahin. Aap newspaper khol ke dekh lo, din ke 10 joke toh aapko wahan mil jaenge. I do social commentary and satire but don’t want to get into politics and communal-related jokes,” says Bhuvan whose first vine was inspired by a news anchor asking an insensitive question.

^{Dhindhora on BB Ki Vines:}

Talking about the viral culture which is has become a trend on social media, Bhuvan, says, “The viral culture has not only shortened the life of a song or a trend, but it has also made them annoying. I have started to hate my favourite song because every second Reel on your feed has that song. Anything that goes viral has a shorter shelf-life. It also puts too much pressure on the artistes.”

Despite his success and popularity, Bhuvan admits that he is not indispensable and his absence from social media will not make much of a difference to the audience because they have too many options. “I don’t think if one creator goes MIA people will even notice or bother. Perhaps, your loyal audience will wait for about a month, but soon they will start following other creators because there are plenty of them today. I don’t think as creators we should give ourselves so much importance and live in a bubble that if we don’t post regularly people will talk about them,” says Bhuvan. However, he emphasises the importance of taking breaks to work on one’s emotional well-being. Bhuvan, who released Dhindhora after a gap of seven months stresses that no break is big or small.

“YouTube has given so many of us a platform that gives us the freedom of not waiting for anyone else to offer us work. I have started my own production house and I’m looking for new talent, scripts and scriptwriters and planning to create more content with newer and fresher talent.
Why wait ki koi humein kaam de?” asks Bhuvan.

“When you take a break, take it for yourself and your mental well-being. You are not a machine and you can’t go on churning out jokes or creating music. It is okay to slow down to rejuvenate yourself so that when you’re mentally and physically sound, you come back with good content. There is no limit to entertainment and the audience will expect you to give them content on a daily basis, but you have to make that call whether you want to work like a machine or not. I am back with ‘Dhindhora’ after seven long months.
Saat mahine mein duniya idhar ki udhar ho jati hai. If your audience knows you why are taking a break, they will wait for you, so it is important to have that interaction with them and let them know what you are not posting content,’’ says Bhuvan, who lost both his parents to COVID this year.