Popular for his comedy videos, YouTuber Amit Bhadana is all set for his first full-fledged acting role in an upcoming web series. Nearly a decade of experience and 24 million subscribers later, the 29-year-old has figured out the pulse of content that sells: Relatability.
“Regional content top pe hai abhi. The stories from our hinterlands had almost disappeared. But now, the audience is only looking for relatable content,” says Bhadana, who is popular for his Haryanvi language videos. He adds, “Today, looks and physique don’t matter much. Ek normal-looking banda, jo talented ho, woh bhi actor ya creator bann sakta hai.”
But, does this mean larger-than-life cinema is out of the picture? “Not completely. The key is, perhaps, keeping it relatable with a dash of dramatic licence, so that it (the content) can cater to a larger group of people,” says Bhadana, who has written and directed the short films Paggal and Chidiya Ghar (both 2022).
With the ever-expanding content landscape, thanks to OTT, many creators have made inroads into showbiz. This, subsequently, has led to a debate about influencers getting roles in big projects. Bhadana, however, feels this shouldn’t be a matter of concern: “It’s all about talent. Agar main achcha gaa leta hoon, aapko farak nahin padna chahiye ki yeh actor hai, singer hai ya influencer hai. Aapko sirf kala se matlab hona chahiye… No one should be insecure about the other.”
His upcoming project, SSC, is a “coming-of-age drama about a student who works hard to get a government job and in the process, cracking the exams becomes his dream”. Ask when one can expect to see him on the big screen and Bhadana reveals he’s “reading scripts”. “I feel I deserve better. I keep getting offers for comedy roles, but I’d like to do something different,” he wraps up.