First, it was Copper_V and Ambaddie. Now Nagavalli, Vasu Annan, Digambaran, Dashamoolam Damu and even Kodumon Potti have joined, all grooving to the beats of popular rap and electro-pop tracks.
Malayali social media users are seeing an influx of bizarrely hilarious videos of these popular film characters battling it out on reels.
If Chemban Vinod became Copper_V with a new fanbase, actor Ambika Mohan joined the scene as Ambaddie.
Soon, Team Ambaddie and Team Copper_V started having rap battles. That’s when some other virtual lurkers discovered actor K Rajesh Hebbar, whose Instagram posts were accompanied by classic and punk rock songs.
Lo and behold, it became a three-team scenario: Ambaddie, Copper_V and Team Hebbar. Things have now gone to, in local parlance, “vere level”.
“I am Team Ambaddie,” laughs Angel Yari, a marketing professional. “This felt organic. All had fun under the comments of their posts. Funny wordplay added to the zing.”
One can’t keep AI creators out of the game these days. They jumped on board.
What began as a playful rivalry between fan pages soon became raw material for wacky AI videos. Familiar faces and characters, set to catchy beats, make great fodder for reels, you see.
“People’s imaginations have no bounds. It is quite crazy out there,” Angel laughs. “Now, my Instagram feed is filled with AI videos of film characters such as Nagavalli, Nakulan, Kannan Srank, Kodumon Potti and Vasu Annan chill tripping or having dance battles.”
An AI video of Kannan Srank, Vasu Annan and Dashamoolam Damu vibing to a loop from Akcent’s ‘Stay With Me’ has clocked over 450,000 views. Some Nagavalli reels have crossed a million views. Malayalis, it seems, cannot get enough of their favourite characters facing off in dance battles across social media.
Lawyer Jissmon Joseph finds them “very funny” — perfect for a chuckle break amid life’s harsh realities.
“Just for unwinding. It makes me feel lighter. At the end of the day, while scrolling Instagram, one just needs a few moments of levity,” he says. “And what better quick fix than such brainrot content? It is an apt term, right?”
Jissmon believes such content — as long as it is innocent and lighthearted — helps keep memorable characters alive in the public imagination.
“WhatsApp memes have been doing that for some time. Take the case of figures such as Philomina or Mamukkoya. They have re-emerged as social media legends. AI videos are taking it a step forward,” he smiles.
The trend, however, is not limited to local meme figures. For some creators, AI is a way to reimagine entire fictional worlds with Malayalis in them.
Graphic designer Hari Krishna started experimenting with AI just over a year ago, beginning with Magnific and Higgsfield AI. His recent AI videos of four Fahadh Faasil characters having a rap sing-along in a car is viral on social media.
“I watch a lot of series, from ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Breaking Bad’ and more. I just wanted to see what if these characters were Malayalis,” Hari explains.
The car sing-along is no novelty, he admits. “It was already a trend. “I thought the same person, but as different characters, would be more entertaining,” he says.
That was just the start. Within a year, he got better at the trick. Now, he makes the Targaryens walk on Kerala streets, Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen enact ‘Oru Vadakkan Veera Gatha’, ‘Breaking Bad’ characters play chenda, and ‘Stranger Things’ characters live among Malayalis.
“I always think about how in the West, they make such fantasy look realistic. Here, AI helps me visualise it,” Hari smiles.
Creating high-quality AI videos is not as easy as people think, he adds. “I take it seriously. And the platforms I use cost so much to generate images and videos that look realistic. It is not just about typing out prompts,” he explains.
At the end of the day, Hari wants people to be entertained and to smile while watching his creations. “I enjoy making these videos after work hours. I get to laugh too,” he says. “But I never cross the line. I ensure not to hurt anyone’s feelings. That sensitivity is important.”
While there are clearly fans of the AI videos, some are ambivalent. Like Nithin Varghese, a techie, who is not sure whether to laugh or loathe.
“These videos are attention-grabbing indeed. That seems to be the principle behind it: make it as weird as possible to amass views and likes,” he says. “Recently, I saw a video featuring Nagavalli. The mannerisms were over-exaggerated. I couldn’t appreciate it.”
Research scholar Sreenanda G says she is tired of AI creations. “Now, I don’t feel excited like before. There are too many AI trends. It is an overload,” she says. “I would want to see not just wild imagination, but a bit more genuine creativity. That will increase the fun quotient, wouldn’t it?” she asks.
She, however, likes the wacky ideas. “I think, for people who are casually browsing social media, these reels can be chuckle-worthy. ”
And that’s the hook. For many, the appeal is simpler. Laughter, they believe, is the best medicine for a lot of modern ailments.