His success story is one for the books. Bhuvan Bam began his career in 2015 making comedy sketches that, in no time, garnered a wide fan following. But even in his wildest dreams, he wouldn’t have imagined making the distance from an Internet sensation to an actor in eight years. Today, as his maiden web series, Taaza Khabar, has been renewed for a second season, the actor-comedian says he hopes to be a “lambi race ka ghoda”.

“I knew [in my initial years] that I won’t be able to prove much in those five-six minute videos. I knew that if I wanted to be a lambi race ka ghoda, I’d have to move out of comedy and try something new. I don’t want to be known as a one-show wonder. [Going forward], there has to be much more than this, whether it’s season two, three, a new show or a new genre,” begins Bam, who is taking baby steps into showbiz.

While he caught everyone’s attention with his sketches and Dhindora (2021), Bam says that the recent Disney+ Hotstar series, also starring Shriya Pilgaonkar, put him on the map. The actor shares that he has sensed a change in the industry’s perception of him since Taaza Khabar.

“Co-actors easily say yes today. Earlier, they would think, kaise karenge? They would [wonder] whether they should do it or not because [I] have come from YouTube. Earlier, co-actors would say yes with inhibition and after a lot of difficulty. But eventually, when they would find out about our vision, it would turn into mutual admiration.” 

The entertainment industry might have taken its time to warm up to him, but Bam’s audience has remained loyal to him since the beginning. He says that because of his trajectory, people view his success as a personal win. He adds, “People tell me that they relate with my success. But this can’t be the peak.”