Viraj Ghelani with his grandmother Bhanuben Thakkar
Image: Neha Mithbawkar for Forbes India
Viraj Ghelani’s Instagram bio reads: “Content creator from SoBo—South Borivali.” Like his bio, his reels, too, are full of hilarious, everyday scenarios sprinkled with acting and a lot of wit. As we sit for a candid chat at a quiet office in Mumbai’s Andheri, an office boy brings us water and complains to Ghelani for not informing him about his arrival, and leaves shortly. “With guests he acts very civil, when we are alone, he perpetually pulls my leg,” says the 31-year-old content creator and actor from Mumbai.
After completing a bachelor’s degree in management studies, he got a job as a social media executive and content writer in FilterCopy, a platform producing short videos, where he started learning about videos and their creation, and started making his own videos on Instagram. “I didn’t know much back then, and I think I still don’t know much. I am learning on the way,” says Ghelani.
Although he has more than 1.2 million followers on Instagram, and videos that garner thousands of likes, Ghelani isn’t stopping there. He believes he always wanted to become an actor, and it just took him a long time to get there. After having played a small role in Govinda Naam Mera (2022), and a cameo in Jawan (2023), this year saw the release of Jhamkudi, a Gujarati horror comedy film, in which he stars as the lead actor.
Ghelani’s journey as a content creator started in 2016, and, this May, he started stand-up comedy shows as well, debuting in Mumbai with a Gujarati show, and following that up with two more. He has also launched his four-city tour across Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, and Vadodara in July, and is preparing for a tour in Australia in October.
Ghelani is not the only star in the family. His 83-year-old maternal grandmother Bhanuben Thakkar often stars in his reels and is widely loved for her candidness and humour. Ghelani shoots a bunch of videos with her, discussing and portraying everyday scenarios in a Gujarati household. “Initially, she was hesitant as she didn’t understand this world of social media. Now, wherever she goes, people talk to her and take pictures with her. And, if I don’t shoot a video with her in two-three weeks, she comes up and asks when we’ll shoot next, because her friends are complaining that they haven’t seen her in one of the videos in some time now,” he chuckles.
It wasn’t easy for Ghelani to convince his family to let him pursue content creation as a career. With his mother being a teacher, he was expected to have a career in finance or engineering; something with a stable income. “After much convincing from my sister and me, she decided to give me a year to try.” Growing up, things weren’t easy for him and his family financially. “I chose comedy because I really wanted some happiness in my life. I was going through a very rough phase financially, and I watched comedians to get a few moments away from all the hardship,” says Ghelani, who has been inspired by comedians such as Russell Peters. “I felt happy momentarily after watching comedians online, I also wanted to be a comic relief for people who are going through something stressful. I thought if I am able to bring a smile to people’s faces even for a minute or two, that is the best kind of work.”
Content creation, reactions to trending memes, stand-up comedy, among other kinds of reels and short videos, are slowly changing the way people spend time, consume content, and learn new things. Relatability is an important factor that keeps viewers engaged and nudges them to like and share videos, or comment on them. Ghelani believes his videos are very relatable and makes him stand out. “I don’t think my videos are particularly funny, but they are very relatable and that brings in the fun,” he says.
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Vinay Pillai, head of strategy at Pocket Aces and senior vice president at Clout Pocket Aces, the agency that handles Ghelani’s work, believes this is just the start of his journey. “Viraj has a unique identity and relatability with his audience and fans, coupled with his ability to write, shoot, edit, act, and scale his distribution. He has also become one of the most sought-after brand faces in the digital creator ecosystem,” he says.
Ghelani says he was never very good at studies and was always more interested in participating in school plays. “As a kid, I watched Gujarati plays and was fascinated to see people from all age groups watch them. When I started making videos, I went back to those days and thought my videos should be such that everyone relates to them,” adds Ghelani, who get his content ideas from observing his mother and grandmother at home.
He says he never lets success get to his head, and only believes in working hard. “I never think I have arrived. What makes me the happiest is seeing people from all age groups, even 80-year-olds, come and attend my shows or compliment me. Some tell me they survived many hardships in their lives and my videos helped them do that. That is my biggest achievement; I feel I have touched lives.”
Ghelani has a lot in store: He has bagged a role in a new Hindi film with a big production house, which is scheduled to release early next year, and has signed four more films, one Hindi and three Gujarati.
(This story appears in the 18 October, 2024 issue
of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)