They are repulsive, yet viral. They annoy you, but you still want to watch them because the whole world is talking about them. Click on the link and the next 15 minutes of your life is cringe-worthy. But, that does not stop you from sharing the videos on your timeline.
Welcome to cringe pop, the new vocabulary in the social media world, for videos that go viral for all the wrong reasons. Like the music album called ‘Angel’ by Taher Shah, a businessman and Pakistani singer. The video has Taher dressed in purple robes and wings. He strolls around a golf ground, calling himself an angel. Soon, he is joined by his son and wife. They all have blonde wigs and hold wands. It is disturbing.
Nevertheless, we watch it. So we dwell on Taher’s family life, check out his Wikipedia page and re-watch the video. The Twitteratti and Facebook denizens are in high fettle. “Pakistan doesn’t need nuclear weapons; they can just drop this purple bomb on us,” tweets Twinkle Khanna.
Kerala came up with some cringe pop a few years ago with an album called Silsila , where creepy men with some dazed foreigners danced. The music was annoyingly addictive. The song’s punch line was ‘Silsila hain silsila’ that buzzed in your brain till it gave you a migraine. One viewer took his revenge by uploading an audio clip where he showers abuse on the director of ‘Silsila’. That too went viral on YouTube.
Take Santhosh Pandit. He is a one-man army. He directs, composes, produces, sings and also acts in his disastrous videos shot in paddy fields and highways. The lyrics are lame, women are shown regressively and his moves are distorted versions of the 70s’ disco dance.
Santhosh received quite a warm welcome from the TRP-starved Malayalam media, who after a long time found solace in someone. The housewives and children preferred watching his interviews to soaps and cartoons.
Santhosh is not subtle at all when he brags. He compares himself with Mohanlal and Mammootty, claims he is the best-looking man in the State and regards his work as a masterpiece. We are clueless whether to laugh or get furious.
Sampoornesh Babu is very popular online. Watch ‘Best Heart Transplant Surgery’, and maybe you will know why. It is all about his struggle to rescue a dying patient. You get to experience some gravity-defying moments, such as a heart magically flying into a hospital and landing on the patient’s chest! Sampoornesh also has a version of Singam , with ‘Watch my climax in my Imax’ kind of punch-lines. In this, a cop uses a bow and arrow to bump off a drunk, hairy villain.
Santhosh and Sampoornesh are at least subversive and funny. But Taher is not. It is just plain silly. He sees himself as a musical sensation. In an interview with the Pakistani media, he thanked his “fans” for the success of the album.
All said and done, cringe pop makes you feel better about yourself. It makes us feel witty, clever and smart.
But wait a minute… How are the over-the-top masala movies we pay good money to watch any different from what Santhosh and company make? They are different because the blockbusters are shot in opulent sets and the Alps and have a suave and stylish Shah Rukh Khan or Mammootty in them. Whereas these videos have only Santhosh who is too lanky, Sampoornesh who has an accent, and Taher who has bad hair.
