CHENNAI: This is the era of online media entertainment, with memes and vines our only source of laughter after a long day at work. But that was not the case six years ago, when Vijay Varadharaj and his friend Shah Ra started the first Tamil YouTube comedy channel, and titled it Temple Monkeys. Six years down the line, they now have grown to almost 60K subscribers with some videos garnering over 2 Lakh views, and some of their team members getting into cinema. Apart from sarcastic and satirical spoofs on National news (one of their most popular videos is a spoof of the strict dress code for the NEET exam), they also do fun movie reviews and hilarious outtakes on a variety of concepts. CE speaks to Vijay Varadharaj about the story behind the coming together of these mischievous monkeys.
We are really curious about the name, ‘Temple Monkeys’?
(Laughs) It has a funny beginning! We’re based out of Sriperumbudur. There are many temples there, with a lot of monkeys. The funny thing is, whatever we feed them, they will take it up to the gopuram and eat only there. So we analogised that to human nature - like a metaphor for how no matter what horrible things humans do, they never give up on their high ego. That’s the symbolism behind the name.
You’re the pioneers in Tamil YouTube comedy channels, how did it all start??
Since college, me and Shah Ra, finished Viscom and then worked as RJ’s in 91.9, Aaha FM. We wanted to get into films, so we shot one with our own budget, but weren’t able to release it due to some complications. We were in quite a lot of frustration, and decided to vent it all into a video and upload it online. So you can say Temple monkeys started from two very angry people. (Laughs) We used to watch Ray William Johnson videos - and thought it will be fun to do such things, right from our homes.
How was the response initially?
In those times, watching online videos only used to happen in browsing centres. We used to have only 3000-4000 views per video. We did everything, from camera to editing and music. Also it was the time when the Nityananda controversy was happening. We released videos about that, and within minutes we got over 5,000 views, and it kept increasing! So some credit for our success goes to Swamiji as well. (Laughs)
How long does it take on average, to make one video?
We don’t really follow any weekly schedule as such; whenever we think of something interesting, we do it. I write the script as points because too-much of a planned script won’t bring out the best humour in online videos. We obviously improvise a lot on the spot, during takes. Shooting takes only 4-5 hours, followed by one day of editing.
What is your view on earning via YouTube?
We do this just for fun, and through this we get offers from films. That’s what I tell people who join us - “Expect chances for movies through this, nothing else.” Recently, film promotions are something we do through which we get some revenue. Marketing is a way to earn, but that’s not something we believe in doing.
What are some of your best fan reviews?
Once, a fan of Shah Ra came in, didn’t say anything, but just hugged him and cried for a while, and then left. We really still don’t know what that was about. We also get some calls from some fans in Saudi Arabia, who say they don’t really watch to TV there, and watch our videos on loop after work before sleeping. So that feels happy to know!
Now there are so many various Tamil YouTube channels. What’s your view on the topic?
The humour culture is different across time. For the people who come these days, it takes only 4 months to get famous, while it took us around 4 years! (Laughs) It’s good to see all these young kids who have a wild following!
Future plans?
We are now planning a ‘Temple monkeys’ movie with the whole team in it. And of course, we’re all into our own film roles as well. Let’s see where this goes!
Find Temple Monkeys on their
YouTube channel of the same name