KOCHI: None can forget the classic dialogue ‘Pillecha, shavathil kutharuthu’ from the 2002 blockbuster Malayalam comedy ‘Meesha Madhavan’. But how many of us know its English translation? Twenty-eight-year-old Vineeth T Kurup shot to fame last year with his first Tiktok video that explained the essence of the iconic line - ‘Don’t add insult to injury’. With his animated, infectious energy, effortless enunciation in both the languages, quirky background and his trademark coke bottle spectacles while addressing his viewers, the Pathanamthitta native has taken the road never taken concerning spoken English classes.
From hating the language to garnering more than two lakh followers on Instagram, 1.5 lakh subscribers on YouTube and ‘housefull’ classes at his recently-found Manglish World Online Academy, the former TikTok star grew by leaps and bounds just over the lockdown.
A mechanical engineering graduate, Vineeth realised that his existent vehement dislike of the language may not take him far. Adamant to regain ‘enlightenment’, he strove to watch English movies sans subtitles as he prepared for his engineering backlogs. Upon grasping the language in its entirety, he wrote the IELTS examination and joined an institution as an IELTS trainer. His upper hand in English and excellent entertaining abilities led him to TikTok.
“I had seen such spoken Hindi videos before. But almost every trainer taught the language from A to Z, in a conventional, straight-forward manner. The dialogue from ‘Meesha Madhavan’ struck me and I decided to translate the same. As I lacked the confidence to showcase my abilities, I employed a filter which added a pair of massive spectacles, thereby shielding my face. My first TikTok video on ‘Pillechan’ went viral overnight. From thereon, I created more comical videos on the same lines and amassed a large number of followers, along with a verified TikTok handle. Eventually I had to purchase a pair of coke bottle glasses. And the name ‘Pillecha’ stuck,” says Vineeth.
Realising that their favourite spoken English trainer had mad skills, Vineeth’s followers requested him to start a YouTube account. ‘Manglish World’ began growing in the blink of an eye. “I wasn’t initially familiar with Instagram’s algorithm and was apprehensive about the same. Chef Suresh Pillai with the Ravis Group mentioned the lucrative potential of the social media platform and I decided to upload my videos on Instagram,” explains Vineeth.
Hand of God
Call it a stroke of luck or the Almighty’s grace, but even after TikTok was banned in the country and Vineeth’s institution had to be shut down due to the pandemic, his timely move to Instagram and expansion of followers on YouTube turned the tables. Vineeth started ‘Manglish World Online Academy’ under Vinfotrain Private Limited in May with live classes, which became instantly successful with students as old as 50 enrolling across India.
The do-gooder also went a step ahead and employed his colleagues and spoken English trainers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, thereby creating a robust, trusting institution. Though times have changed, English continues to be a steep hurdle for many. “As a result, my comical style and translation of classic Malayalam dialogues immediately catch the viewer’s eye. Learning the language instantly becomes fun. I have received retorts asking me to maintain the professionalism other English trainers exhibit. But, I don’t need to maintain the stereotypical ‘standards’. Fortunately, we have received remarkable good results,” he adds.
Your course begins here
“Do your groundwork. Watching English movies with subtitles or randomly flipping the pages of a book are futile if you do not develop listening skills, repeat the dialogue after them or create sentences with the new word that you’ve found,” says Vineeth. Check out Vineeth’s videos on Instagram -
@vineethtkurup and @manglishworld and Youtube channel ‘Manglish World’. You can enroll in his IELTS, OET, Spoken English and PTE face-to-face interactive classes replete with study material, at www.manglishworld.com.