New Delhi: Ashish Chanchlani whose YouTube channel recently hit 20 million subscribers, says the audience needs to be a little sensitive when they choose to troll or post personal comments online as doing so might affect a person.
IANSlife spoke to Chanchlani who opened up about how he deals with the trolling and the pressure of delivering original contents constantly. Excerpts:
Q: You joined YouTube in 2009, in early 2017 you celebrated 1 million subscribers and in 2020 you have crossed 20 million. How has the journey been?
A: I started making vine and short videos in the year 2014. Initially, I was expecting that I would hardly have around 1 lakh subscribers as I just wanted the YouTube Silver Play Button. I never believed nor thought that one day I would have 20 million subscribers on my channel. My journey from ‘Ab Jaane de Ashu’ till ‘Ab Jaane Nahi Dega Ashu’ was only possible because of my fans. I personally feel after 6 years, we all have grown up along with the fans (Acvians). Our fans have made us who we are today.
Q: Has the lockdown affected your output as a content creator?
A: I think the lockdown has been very productive for me when it started out, but now, sitting at home I am not able to work it out. I have realised during this period that I can’t sit idle and that has taken a toll on me. I am paying attention to things that are least important in life. Going forward, I am concentrating on coming back and producing more content. I think the lockdown has affected everyone. There are a lot of content creators who benefited from it because most of them used to spend time on digital platforms.
Q: During these tough times, what keeps you motivated to entertain your audience?
A: The only thing that keeps me motivated is my audience because I communicate with them whenever I feel low and disconnected. In return, they have always sent me love and support from their end. It’s the audience who has kept me going to entertain them.
Q: Since there are a lot of content creators on YouTube, how do you make sure that you have something unique to offer to your audience?
A: Every YouTuber has a different style of creating content based on trends or their background; on the other hand there are different types of the audience who like a particular style of comedy. My concept is mostly based on what is happening around the world. I make videos on what is going on in real-time. Sometimes my videos are random but I make sure that it’s relatable, reality with a blend of comedy. Like we are in 2020 now, if you see my videos they are all based on the current situation and how we are affected due to the lockdown. I observe my family, peer group, relatives, everything that is around me and I mingle my observation with a funny twist. For a YouTuber, observation is the most important thing.