A 20-year-old Bhuvan Bam was watching the news about the 2015 floods in Kashmir, when an anchor asked a grieving woman how she felt about losing her son. The question was so absurd that it inspired him to create a video satirising the newsman. Unexpectedly, it went viral. And just like that, Bam became an Internet hit. That virality has grown and seeped into the real world: he recently concluded a nationwide tour of live shows in over eight cities.
Bam says, “When a regular guy like me starts getting attention, it’s natural to want more. I wanted the next video to be bigger than the last.” He was initially uploading his work to his Facebook page, but by June 2015, he started BB Ki Vines, using the YouTube channel to create content around “common man problems”. His videos are still filmed with no frills or fuss, shot by him with a front-facing camera.
True to his roots
What helps, he feels, is the relatability of the content. The characters he creates and plays — like Mama from Indore and Chacha from Punjab — are based on his observations of people. “I come from a middle class family, so most of my content comes from home,” he chuckles. His only mantra is to not ape content creators from the West. And it seems to have worked for him; last year, Bam’s channel won the Most Popular category at the WebTV Asia Awards.
Earlier this week, the YouTube star crossed the five million subscriber mark, with most of his videos — Valentine’s Week Hutiyapa , Papa Maakichu and the Angry Masterji series — boasting over 10 million views. His channel, overall, has logged 668 million views as of last month. Additionally, his Facebook page has more than four million followers and his Instagram, three million.
Apart from his own content, Bam starred in a web series for Happii-Fi called Bro Court earlier this year. He also collaborated with the cast of Fukrey Returns . “In India, Bollywood is the biggest platform, but now YouTube has gained so much ground in the media space that the tables are turning,” he says. His Twitter feed informs us that over the past few days, he has been busy shooting with stand-up comics Tanmay Bhat, Kanan Gill and Abish Mathew, and actor Sonakshi Sinha, for an upcoming mystery project.
Cracking the code
To stay relevant on YouTube — which has over a billion users and 300 hours of video uploaded every minute — is no simple feat. “Every time I’ve thought I’ve cracked the code, I’ve been completely wrong. For all the time and work I put into it, I figure it’s best to create content I’m happy with and leave the rest up to the audience,” he says. They, however, have not always been kind. “People abuse for no reason, because they can do it anonymously. There’s a lot of negativity, criticism and hatred as an artist grows.”
Stepping out into the real world for events has helped Bam realise how far he has come. Earlier this year, when he was in Udaipur to launch a YouTube app, several thousand people turned up. “YouTube in these cities is new. They have more access to the Internet than ever before,” he says, and this, he decided, was a market to engage with further. His recent tour across North India, took him to tier 2 cities like Nagpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Raipur and Udaipur. “The reception was really heart-warming. It was a ticketed show, so we weren’t expecting a large number, since my audience is mostly in the 15 to 25 age group. But we had an average audience of almost 4,000 in each city,” he says.
Going forward
Bam, a musician who was performing cover songs in weddings and restaurants before he became a YouTube star, says he prefers live performances. “With YouTube, it’s mostly about scripting and editing. Live performances depend on the crowd, their mood and reactions,” he says. Right now he’s focused on creating new videos and original music for the stage.
Of late, Bam has been on the road a lot: before his tour, he was in Indonesia for the YouTube FanFest 2017, and in Los Angeles to film for YouTube Rewind (an annual video that features dozens of top global stars from the platform in a look-back).
But when he’s home, he says he’s mostly writing, be it ghazals or scripts for videos. But through it all, he’s available and active on social media. “I keep talking to people on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. I take time to reply to posts and ‘like’ pictures I’m tagged in. It’s important to be yourself and be available for your fans. These small things matter,” he concludes.
