Gaurav Gera aka Chutki on the windfall from his internet popularity
Chaya Unnikrishnan (DNA; September 7, 2015)


When was the first time you made a short video?
Five years ago. The first video I made was of Chutki and her boyfriend Suyash. It was a seven-minute video. I made some 60 videos, but after that I got busy with a musical, Jhumroo, staged at Kingdom Of Dreams in Delhi. For nine months, I had non-stop rehearsals 8.30 am to 8.30 pm daily. My brain didn’t function and I didn’t make a video for three years. Also, later, when the play was staged, I got into a comfort zone. Money kept coming in and I had to only work two days a week, so I never got around to doing the video.

When did you begin again?
After I stopped doing the play I had a lot of time. I didn’t see myself shooting 12 hours a day again. So, soaps were out. I decided to start making videos again, hoping it would work. I started the Shopkeeper video in April and gradually got new characters like his Beta, Wife, Bittu Uncle, Chutku etc. The first time I did those vidoes, they were not that popular. On the internet, you have to be regular and put up stuff non-stop. For three years, I hadn’t put up anything and only those who had seen them earlier, knew about them. This time, instead of the seven-minute videos, I chose to make it in the 15-second format.

Why only 15 seconds?
I don’t have the patience to watch TV shows or films now, unless it’s animation. Even five minutes is long now. Generally also, people’s patience is dying down plus if the video is long the data doesn’t upload on phones. I have kept it short so that it’s like reading a joke on cell phone.

And this time it became popular!
Initially, a lot of people didn’t like Chutki. They rejected her. But since I liked it, I continued. I did one called Lipton di chai. I had heard the joke in childhood, and I liked it. (Chutki asks for chai patti of a particular brand. The shopkeeper keeps refusing and says he has only Lipton di chai. They way he says it with the Punjabi accent, Chutki thinks he is talking about hugging and says she is ready). People found it funny and then it caught on like fire. Chutki and her brother Chutku were also quite popular. I get messages from several siblings saying whenever they have a fight they quarrel like Chutki and Chutku. And while talking to their mom, they say mamma the way Chutki says it! Even a random world like ‘huiii’ has caught people’s fancy. I have done videos on a Chinese opera, a Russian song and a Thai song substituting with Hindi words like Henry Kaiko Bhaga. One friend from Paris called up to say ‘you are the only reason I would love to learn Hindi’. Somebody from Tunisia asked if anybody can translate. They get the gist of the video as the expression is funny. Now, it is catching on in Italy and UK too.

How long do you prepare for the video before shooting it?
I rehearse till I am really happy.

Do people send you ideas now?
Yes, but most of them are bad.

The way Chutki talks, reminds us of Sharmila Tagore...
A lot of people say that, even my mom tells me that. When I heard it again, even I felt that! It has that lehza.

Your earlier videos of Chutki have her big-chested!
(Laughs) Yes, those were made five years ago. That was the way I differentiated between Chutki and Chutku who has a big butt.

Several celebrities have now done the shopkeeper and Chutki videos. Which one did you find the funniest?
I liked Akshay Kumar and Sidharth Malhotra’s video. It has its own flavour. I also liked the one Salma Agha has done with her daughter. People of her age don’t want to make a fool of themselves, but she is a cool chick.

Aren’t you doing a Chutki show on TV?
Yes, I have licensed the characters for both TV and radio. I do fresh content for them. I get it written, but they edit and produce it themselves. This is the first time an actor is holding the IP (Intellectual Property). However, it’s through the internet that I see doing a lot of business — merchandise, caller tunes, ring tones etc. There is a lot more freedom on the internet. TV and films have a lot of clichés — a certain way of doing things because so much money is riding on them. They don’t want to take risks.

Do you upload your videos on You Tube first?
I rarely put them on YouTube, as it is like making money via people. It should be free. Also, on YouTube, I upload compilations because if people see one random video of a man dressed like a woman, it may not appeal to them. ‘Kya bakwaas hai humour’ is what they are likely to say. But in a compilation, they will get an idea that actors in speak faster and one video finishes in 15 seconds.

How do you plan to monetise it then?
I should be taken care for brands. They could do subtle or blatant marketing. Brands can put their banner behind (in the frame) or a hashtag below. It will be a way for brands to reach out and communicate. In fact, I did one video that was paid for by Mc Fore. I also see these characters as potential caricatures-cartoons, developing into an animation series. I have the entire khandaan of Chutki and the shopkeeper now. I will also be introducing more characters like Hari from Mars. He was shown in one video long ago, but now I will make him more useful.

Which networking site do you upload your videos first?
Instagram. I will tell you why. The way I see it, people are hardcore addicts. Instagramwale Instagram nahi chhodte, ditto with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. I have a funda about these sites. On Facebook, you find a lot of housewives and kids. Twitter is for people who have an opinion. I don’t have anything to add to it, but still I don’t waste that platform. Instagram is for girls — they like colourful stuff, cute, bright things, lot of visuals and short videos. Also, the audio-video is better on Instagram, it’s free and it plays on loop, which is perfect for my videos. You can’t understand my videos in one go, you’ll have to watch it two-three times. That’s why I put up my videos on Instagram first.

Are your videos targeted at anybody in particular?
My videos are basically for women. My theory behind this is, India mein ladkiyan kuch teda bol nahi paati. They can say any sh*t with close friends but not in public. That is why the coke-c**k video is so popular —enjoying a word so much that you keep going back to the shopkeeper. Girls have the right to enjoy and be cool about it. We guys talk about anything and that too in public — in fact we boast about it, but women do not do that. This is for them to enjoy as well as participate.

When and where do you shoot the videos?
Since I have learnt everything on my own — editing, chroma, split screen etc and everything can be done on phone — I have one with a frontal camera — I can shoot anywhere. Sometimes, I shoot and edit in the car and when I reach home, I upload it.

How many videos do you shoot in a day?
It depends on my mood. One day, I shot four videos in the vanity van when I was waiting to be called for my shot! I carry my wigs everywhere.

Where do you get the topics for your videos?
Like I said some are from jokes I have heard in childhood. Some I take from current topics. For example, when Jon Snow of Game Of Thrones died, it was trending on Twitter. So, I had Chutki telling the shopkeeper Jon Snow is dead. The shopkeeper says, “Bhagwan acche logon ko jaldi utla lete hai. Gaon mein Tauji par bijli gir gayi aur mar gaye. Bahut acche aadmi the.” Chutki retorts saying, ‘So random’. But isn’t the entire premise random? Why is she talking about Jon Snow to a shopkeeper who doesn’t even know he is and instead is sharing something from his heart.

How has your family reacted?
They are super proud. I am very close to my parents — they stay in Delhi and I talk to them at least three-four times in a day. I have a brother who is working in a software company and he is also proud of me. Meri kadar badh gayi hai. They know where I want to go — I am not aiming for TV or films, but internet is where I want to be. I want to live a free life, be in Dubai for three months, Goa two months, and may be shift back to Gurgaon. I don’t want to be in Mumbai. If I am in Mumbai, I want to stay in a bungalow next to the sea with superb WiFi. A bungalow, because I need space to shoot.

The one-liners you use in your videos, have you heard them somewhere?
No, not really. Since my childhood I have been a very quiet person. I don’t talk too much, but I listen a lot. I think of something and laugh alone. I don’t open my mouth thinking nobody will understand what I am saying. Now, thankfully I know to make videos where I can use my thoughts. At least, say how twisted I am!

How did you conceive Chutki?
Actually, it was my friend Kiku’s (Sharda) idea. I used to make other videos then, but he suggested that if I make a video with me playing a big-chested girl, he will play my uncle — a guy with a big butt. I called the video Bade Acche Lagte Hai. That’s how Chutki was born. Also, as far as Chutki is concerned, I am saying this is a girl and you have to believe it. It’s not a transgender playing a woman, but a man playing a woman and there is no hiding it.

Why don’t you involve other actors in your videos?
I have done that. Kavita Kaushik, Mona Singh, Kunal Kapoor and Sayantani Ghosh have appeared in the videos. What happens is when another person is involved, you have to explain to him/her that you have to speak faster, because it has to finish in 15 seconds. Besides, I shoot the video whenever I feel like it. Once I did it after I returned home from a shoot. It was late in the night, I was hungry, but there was no food. Just before I went for a shower, I got this keeda of doing the video on food and shot one about mushrooms! Also, the output is more when I do it solo and of course, cheaper.

Why does Chutki wear her lipstick badly?
(Smiles) The bad lipstick gets attention on thumbnails. People wonder what’s wrong with the lipstick and click to see more.

Which of your videos are more popular?
The ‘aww plus aww’ one and the ‘Coke Dena’. Even the Malham Hai Suji and Chaddi Chahiye caught on. There have been lots of dubsmashes too. I never thought my videos would be dubsmashed. Somebody had offered saying if I gave my videos they would do it. I was like, why would anyone do that. Everybody does it on films or songs. Even I would do on films. But now, I see so many versions of the shopkeeper videos. There are 14,000 open profiles, there will be so many by private users, I can’t even see.