Because social media has become such an integral part of our daily lives, many ordinary people have found themselves unexpectedly famous as a result of it. The twenty-first century is defined by the internet and what grabs one’s attention on social media.
While millions of videos and photos are uploaded to the internet every day, it takes something absolutely extraordinary to go viral.
Every day, something new becomes popular on social media for a variety of reasons. Some of them become celebrities almost instantly. That is why, every year or every few months, Indian media tries to create a viral phenomena out of disadvantaged people. There are several buzzes, interviews, tweets, and whatever else you can think of to increase TRPs.
However, in the drive for TRPs, the media frequently treats them as if they were an animal in a circus act. Here are several examples:
Baba Ka Dhaba
The 80-year-old owner of a modest diner in Delhi’s Malviya Nagar became an internet celebrity after a blogger described his ordeals during the pandemic. This prompted a viral campaign inviting people to visit his food stand, which was a big success, including both ordinary people and celebrities.
Let’s help put their smile back … our neighbour hood vendors need our help to ❤️🙏. https://t.co/X4RNcYOA9w
— Suniel Shetty (@SunielVShetty) October 8, 2020
On the other hand, the media did not forsake him. As a result of his constant video bytes and interviews with everyone and their mothers, Kanta Prasad became a subject of memes, trolls, and other foolishness.
Even if you can remove all of the drama surrounding the man from the alleged theft of cash, the fact remains that Indian media used him as cannon fodder before hanging him out to dry when the public’s interest waned.
Ranu Mondal
Ranu Mondal became an overnight sensation after her rendition of a Lata Mangeshkar song at the Ranaghat station in West Bengal went viral. Viral marketing and a slew of TV and social media interviews followed, as did invitations to parties hosted by celebrities like Barkha Dutt.
However, the pandemic hit soon after, and she vanished from our collective memory. She was in severe financial shape, according to reports, and had no choice but to return to her old address. You’d think that after all that circus, we’d have someone cover the horrible part of the storey.
Budhia Singh
In 2006, you may recall this four-year-old prodigy who completed the 65-kilometer journey between Puri and Bhubaneswar in in seven hours. Surely, this young man was a natural athlete, destined for better things. By now, he must have been a member of the Indian Olympic team.
However, things did not go as planned. His coach was slain after a frenzy of media attention and a million and one interviews and stories about the boy’s life, effectively ending his sprinting career. Until Manoj Vajpayee published a biography on Singh, he was nearly forgotten in Indian media.
Nobody brought up Singh’s mother’s concern that the state government was hanging them out to dry, or Budhia’s admission that he wasn’t getting enough food in the sports dormitory where he was transferred.
Sahdev Dirdo Internet sensations
He’s undoubtedly known to you as the Bachpan Ka Pyaar kid. He, too, is perplexed by what he does, and everyone adores him. The only bad characters in this storey are the Indian media and the way they covered this child’s storey.
Every time someone interviewed him, he was singing the song, and while he didn’t appear bothered by it, it was evident that he was being treated like a circus attraction by folks of a certain age.
Bhuban Badyakar Internet sensations
You may recognise him as the Kacha Badam guy. Except you’ve forgotten his face and are now scrolling down to see if I’ve included a picture.
While the Indian press did not treat him harshly, social media and Instagram influencers continued to dance to an autotuned version of the song without giving him credit. I know the headline says “information,” but let’s be honest: there isn’t much of a difference between the two in this country.
Pradeep Mehra Internet sensations
Pradeep Mehra, who was recently seen jogging late at night after working at a restaurant, is the latest addition to the list of those who didn’t ask for social media stardom but got it anyhow.
When asked why he was running by famed filmmaker Vinod Kapri, Mehra answered that he was training for the army. I wish him well, but if this isn’t a scathing indictment of our culture, I don’t know what is. Needless to say, it has been changed into something positive by individuals from all walks of life, despite the fact that it is simply Poverty Porn.
This is PURE GOLD❤️❤️
— Vinod Kapri (@vinodkapri) March 20, 2022
नोएडा की सड़क पर कल रात 12 बजे मुझे ये लड़का कंधे पर बैग टांगें बहुत तेज़ दौड़ता नज़र आया
मैंने सोचा
किसी परेशानी में होगा , लिफ़्ट देनी चाहिए
बार बार लिफ़्ट का ऑफ़र किया पर इसने मना कर दिया
वजह सुनेंगे तो आपको इस बच्चे से प्यार हो जाएगा ❤️😊 pic.twitter.com/kjBcLS5CQu
Some sleazy media outfits then invited him to a studio and requested him to run there. This is complete and total bullshit. I’m referring to runs within the studio.
As predicted, news channels making him run inside the studio and creating Baba Ka Dhaba moment one more time. It have now became spiritual and moral compulsion of nation to invent one baba ka dhaba moment every year and celebrate festival of ‘kindness’ until the season last. https://t.co/wskPfkZYjS
— Anurag Minus Verma (@confusedvichar) March 21, 2022