THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Lilly Singh was in a bad place emotionally. As a way to deal with her emotions, she began making YouTube videos. Now, eight years, 1,36,56,861 subscribers and 701 videos later, ‘Superwoman’ is one of the sought-after YouTube channels in the world. If Lilly Singh made it big in Canada, can we be left behind?
Well, cashing in on the YouTube trend, a few Malayali vloggers are already garnering attention through their vivid content and number of views on Youtube. Express takes a look at these super successful vloggers.
Ramshad Voice
4,143 subscribers
15 videos
51,844 views
(His other channel: A2Z Tricks
67,992 subscribers
307 videos
46,59,094 views)
In 2016, Ramshad C T of Melattoor applied for his first ever Lower Division Clerk exams. However, when he looked up sample questions on YouTube, he was disappointed. “There was not one channel giving Mathematics coaching for competitive exams in Malayalam. There were a few in Hindi, but none in Malayalam,” he says. That’s when A2Z Tricks began.
An accountant by profession, maths came easily to him. “Within a short span of time, I learned everything I can about Youtube and it’s technical side,” says Ramshad.In no time, he was recording and uploading videos. “I even began live streaming maths problems and solutions,” he says.
However, some time into his YouTube career, his channel was issued a Community Guidelines strike. “I still have no idea why. I no longer was able to live stream anything,” Ramshad says. He, subsequently, created another channel - Ramshad Voice - on April this year. Within a month, the channel already has over 4,000 subscribers and has gained more than 51,000 views. “The strike was removed from A2Z Tricks,” he says.Currently, both his channels are active. While he uses Ramshad Voice to live stream classes on various topics for PSC exams, Ramshad uploads daily videos on maths problems in A2Z Tricks.
Trip Couple
12,470 subscribers
61 videos
3,87,084 views
For the Trip Couple, it began in early 2016 on the top of a hill somewhere in the United States of America. “Both of us loved travelling before we met, but wasn’t able to do it extensively,” says Sanjay.
After Riya came to the US in 2015, they began visiting the nearby places. They used to click pictures and sometimes record themselves doing amateur videos of the places they travelled to. “We used to copy those classic travel videos,” says Riya. “Initially, we recorded them to show it to our friends and family. They suggested us to start a YouTube channel. So, one day, while we were on the top of a hill, we decided we’ll give it a try.”
Now more than 60 videos and over 12,000 subscribers later, they are still backpacking, hiking and driving their way through the US, inspired by international classic travel movies. “We try to do our videos in cinematic style. We try to bring out videos that are at par with international standards. For this, we have invested a lot in editing and shooting equipment,” says Riya.
When they began doing the videos, all they had in mind was to show people about potential sights that are underrated. And their effective audience is the people in Kerala. “We wanted to show sights that they don’t usually get to see firsthand,” says the Trip Couple, who are based in New Rochelle, New York.
In terms of future, trips to Europe and India are definitely on their ‘to-do’ list. “We have put high priority to Europe. Ultimately, we want to travel the world,” says Riya with a chuckle.
Abhijith Vlogger
90,249 subscribers
238 videos
83,91,170 views
So, how does a BA Animation Graphics graduate from Kothamangalam end up being a YouTuber with more than 90,000 subscribers? Let’s find out. In 2015, when Abhijith Jaffer began vlogging, he was one of the first Malayali Youtubers to do movie reviews. “I used to watch the videos by Youtuber Casey Neistat. And I wanted to be like him,” says Abhijith.
With over 230 videos, he is the sought-after Malayali Youtuber when it comes to films. “I was in Youtube’s ‘Trending in India’ list more than 50 times. Also, when ‘Aadi’ was released, my review video was in ‘Kerala Trending’ for days,” he says. Obviously, none of this was planned or expected. “When I first posted a movie review video, I was surprised by the number of views it got,” says Abhijith. According to him, his views can be credited to his ‘no-nonsense honest opinions’. “I don’t have a nerd look and I don’t use a lot of technical terms. I use simple, honest-to-earth views and I think that’s what my audience wants,” he says.
After receiving backlash from a director whose film Abhijith gave bad ratings, he decided to pause reviewing all films that screen in the theatres. “I will review only good films from now on. I started this channel so I could do both film reviews and travel a lot. I think at this juncture I can concentrate on the latter more,” he says.Abhijith is planning to go on an extensive all-India trip soon.
Sujith Bhakthan
1,08,991 subscribers
302 videos
90,68,573 views
A blogger for the past 10 years, Sujith Bhakthan launched his YouTube channel ‘Tech Travel Eat by Sujith Bhakthan’ in 2016. “I wanted to bridge the distance to video blogging. I liked to travel and started the channel with travel videos,” he says.
Currently, his channel features travel details, information about going to different places, technology related to travel and food. “All famous travel videos in Malayalam is just about places and its characteristics,” says Sujith. “However, my channel focuses solely on giving information about how to go to different places.
What makes him different from travel vloggers is that he shows people how he experiences each place. “That’s the only way I can give honest opinions. Though I used to get negative criticism about my way of presenting videos, my viewers have seemed to understand that this is how I stand out.” Over 50 per cent of the Pathanamthitta-based blogger’s audience is non-resident Keralites.
Leotales by Niranjana
10,662 subscribers
402 videos
1,47,2132 views
It has been 16 months since this young engineering graduate has switched her career path, finally finding her happy place. With an ever-burgeoning crowd of YouTube subscribers and Instagram followers, this youngster has made a mark with her vlogs. Niranjana Naushad, a city-based lifestyle and beauty vlogger, is garnering accolades from the online community with her Instagram account ‘Leo_tales’ and YouTube channel ‘Leotales by Niranjana’.
Her foray into vlogging was purely a hasty decision, she tells you. But it has helped her find her calling in life. “I just wanted to do something different that New Year,” recalls Niranjana. That was in 2017 and now, this youngster has earned her place in the vlogging community with her unbiased product reviews. Now Niranjana’s channel is a delight for any shopper by aiding in making sensible purchases. While starting off, all she had was her smartphone to capture the videos and photographs. It has only been a few days since she has finally invested in a DSLM camera. The youngster is all happy having turned her passion into her profession, introducing a plethora of brands to the online community. “This is what I want to do. For me every day is exciting and is highly gratifying. Choosing this unconventional path has its share of uncertainties. But I enjoy the risk associated with it,” says Niranjana as she is busy readying up a permanent shooting spot in her room. “This keeps me going. I want to do something different every day. And vlogging helps me do just that,” says Niranjana.