바카라I can do anything to make my followers laugh,바카라 says Puneet Kumar aka Puneet Superstar, about the time he got three stitches on his forehead after he broke a matka (clay pot) on his head while making a video.
Meet the Delhi-based TikTok sensation, whose style of comedy is strange바카라absurd, perhaps? His videos are profane. They seem to revolt against the strictures of daily life. Like the matka he broke on his head, in other videos, he smears his face with toothpaste, with the soundtrack sometimes carrying 1990s indie pop, sometimes just his 바카라eerie voice바카라. Unlike other content creators, he doesn바카라t intend any meaning in his videos, though his content is consistent in its absurdity. For instance, he makes videos wishing birthdays.
Kumar바카라s unique style, dialogues, attire, uncanny mannerism and fast-paced delivery has struck a chord with his viewers. His TikTok stardom was achieved with dialogues like 바카라nalle berozgar log (these unemployed people)바카라, 바카라kothi-bangle wale log (people with big houses)바카라 and 바카라iss se mera kya faida? (what do I gain from it?)바카라. With over one lakh followers on Instagram Reels, and over three million on MX TakaTak, he is famous for posting birthday wishes on his channel for money.
A lot of content creators from other countries also make videos similar to Kumar. Anurag Minus Verma, a columnist and a podcaster who is known for making absurd interpretations of current affair events, says, 바카라Life doesn바카라t go in a rational manner. To make sense from nonsense is the essence of our absurd themes.바카라 He adds, 바카라I바카라m drawn towards absurd content as our minds are messed up, and this form of storytelling is close to that human essence.바카라
On his new Instagram account, called 바카라Intllectual (sic) Puneet바카라, Verma posts old videos of Kumar with 바카라academic references바카라 in his voice. One of the most popular videos is on Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, in which Verma바카라s voice can be heard saying, 바카라Mummy mujhe subaltern ki awaz sun ni hai (Mother I want to listen to the subaltern voice),바카라 riffing on the scholar바카라s famous treatise바카라over an old video of Kumar lying in bed in drag.
Verma claims his audience includes journalists, students, lawyers and academicians, because, he says, of the 바카라philosophical terminology바카라 he often uses, basically a lot of name-dropping and references to European philosophy. In a podcast where Verma hosted Kumar, the latter spoke of one of his popular videos, in which he yells into nothingness under a flyover in Gurgaon. 바카라I just want to go viral and make people laugh,바카라 Kumar says.
Verma says, 바카라Overall, there바카라s a rise in absurd content on the internet, as a lot of marginalised voices, who never used the internet before, are finding ways to get noticed on it.바카라
Then there is Ghanshyam Sharma, whose persona is that of an aspirant for competitive exams like Bihar Public Service Commission and Bihar sub-inspector (police). Fans call his videos바카라in which he uses simple household objects like utensils, flip flops and containers as props바카라funny and weird.
He once lip synched to Himesh Reshammiya바카라s song 바카라Kitne arman jage tere vastey바카라 using a bucket and a desktop keyboard, which went viral on TikTok. Before TikTok was banned, he had over 3 lakh followers. Now, he has the same number of followers on YouTube, where the content is varied, and includes 바카라sane stuff바카라, where he talks about 바카라things in general바카라.
ALSO READ: Love: Man, Women And A Viral Story
Verma believes people who are mystified by the popularity of these absurd videos actually don바카라t understand the idea. 바카라A lot of things we see around us appear normal to us because we바카라ve become accustomed to these, but are actually absurd.바카라 Like the 9-5 jobs we do. Verma says today바카라s generation instinctively grasps this absurdity and likes pointing it out.
Still, unlike in the West, most desi purveyors of the absurd don바카라t feel comfortable with the aesthetics of Reels and find it difficult to market their content. On Verma바카라s podcast, Kumar had said, 바카라Instagram has recently opened the possibility of doing a duet like on TikTok, which did not exist earlier,바카라 describing how Instagram is trying to accommodate TikTok stars on its platform after the Chinese app was banned. Kumar believes Reels is the future, so they have to tailor their content for it.
With absurd the flavour of the season, there are many others on Instagram making aligned content. But the likes of Deepak Kalal and Thara Bhai Joginder differ fundamentally from Kumar and Verma. With high definition cameras, boastful show of wealth, sleazy themes and abusive language, their videos are a world apart from the quaint shoddiness of the latter, shot on cheap phones with no post-production gloss.
The global popularity of Khabane Lame, the 21-year-old Senegalese-born Italian citizen, is an interesting example showcasing the interest of new gen internet users in day-to-day absurdity. In most of his videos, he can be seen wearing a sardonic expression as he displays a 바카라hack바카라 of an overtly complicated task, silently. With over 134 million followers, the world바카라s second most popular TikToker바카라s mute videos seem to be a meta-commentary on his on-screen activities.
There are umpteen videos, coming especially from South-East Asia and Africa, containing weird plots and surreal settings that suggest the rising popularity of the weird.
So what excites the Gen Z? Why comedy, and why absurdist comedy? Outlook asked students of Delhi University why such humour goes viral among them. Most students concurred that it is 바카라relatable바카라. 바카라I like this type of humour, as I don바카라t know much about life and am anxious of what the future has in store for me. Making fun of these things helps me assimilate them,바카라 says Prateek, a 25-year-old student.
In one of his most popular videos, comedian Karunesh Talwar mocks an Indian contestant on MasterChef Australia, who surprised the judges by making bhajiya (vegetable fritters). The joke is on how the humble bhajiya, when taken to a foreign audience, becomes exotic. It is self-deprecating, as are most of his jokes and much of the stand-up scene. Quite like Mohd Suhel, most of whose jokes are self-deprecating and absurdist.
They offer a clue into the psyche of Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2012, and constituting the largest consumers of droll). Bored by easy availability of products and faced with 바카라a lot of hustle for not putting enough effort바카라 or 바카라for being lazy바카라 from parents, they find refuge in those weird, chaotic, self-deprecating videos that leave older generations irritated and confused.
A pivotal influence appears to be the internet meme, into whose hollowed-out templates Gen Z can insert their theme du jour. Think of some of the famous memes: 바카라Nagarpalika ko bulao바카라, 바카라Gormint aunty바카라, 바카라Mai mad*** hu jo isme aya바카라, 바카라cooker se chane nikal diye바카라.
ALSO READ: Punjabi Tadka: Vlogging Their Way To Success
Aditi Vashishtha, a PhD scholar in Delhi School of Economics, says, 바카라Humour is in itself somewhat absurd. You laugh when you stumble, or at people with weird faces. Our generation appears to get the kicks by challenging existing social structures with humour.바카라
(This appeared in the print edition as "Reeling in the Droll")
ALSO READ
