It’s her kind of life. Or, as Monica Choudhury says, ‘Ma Kinda Life’. For the nearly 50,000 followers of her comic Tamil videos on YouTube and Facebook, it’s their kind of life too.
Choudhury’s salty phrasing and mono-acting as the typical Tamil ‘Amma’ or ‘Appa’ (with the help of a fake moustache)and a long list of alter egos, is spot-on when it comes to highlighting the ridiculous in our everyday lives.
“Life can be taken too seriously, sometimes. It’s important to know that we can laugh about it from time to time and that it is okay,” says Choudhury in an email interview from Mannheim, Germany, where she has been based since marriage.
The 26-year-old daughter of a Telugu father and Malayali mother grew up in Chennai. Ironically, she learnt to speak the local language only in college, helped along by her love for Tamil movies. “One day, when I was alone in Germany and missing home, I decided to make a Tamil video for fun. I hadn’t the slightest idea people would connect with it, and that it would take me so far. I’m glad I did it.”
Choudhury’s slice-of-life videos usually have just her in the frame, but there’s an air of freshness about them. “As clichéd as it may sound, I enjoy helping people and making them feel happy. And, I believe you can spread a smile through any platform. I wanted to see if I could achieve that through videos.”
Inspired by requests
He r stint on Facebook started in July 2016, and so far, it has been the Tamil content — on the silliness of superstitions or the comparison of Western and Tamil parenting, for example — that has got Choudhury the most views.
“The response has been massive, and it wasn’t something I expected. People thank me for making them smile, for helping them get through a bad day or even depression. It’s a nice feeling to know I can do that.”
Choudhury’s is a one-woman-show as far as production goes. “It’s just me, my camera and tripod,” she says. “I often pick topics based on viewers’ requests. I think about it for a while, and when something clicks, I make a video about it. Previously, I would shoot and edit in just one day. Now, I do it over two days, and post videos every Wednesday.”
Choudhury hopes to make Ma Kinda Life an entertainment channel and an online community where people can laugh to their heart’s content. She has plans to go in for branded merchandise as well as do her bit for the disadvantaged, and yes, also publish her love story.
