While in fourth grade, Indian internet sensation Bhuvan Bam’s mother enrolled him for vocal Hindustani classical music training. By the time he was in college, every night of the week, from 8pm to 12am, he would play the guitar and sing at a local restaurant. Music was his thing.
Then, at the age of 21, he found his calling as a comedian.
One day, after a long day of classes, Bam came home to see an absurd TV news report on a flood. “A reporter was asking this lady ‘How do you feel, (now) that you’ve lost your son?’ It was a silly question. I couldn’t control myself. I had to make a satire of it,” says Bam, who made a 15-second video on the incident and posted it on his Facebook page.
To separate his musician and comedian personas, Bam set up the Facebook page BB Ki Vines. One of Bam’s first comedy videos went viral in Karachi University, Pakistan. It soon found takers everywhere—Dubai, Nepal, Bangladesh—and eventually, the Delhi boy found an avid audience in his home country, too. Bam then created his own YouTube channel.
Since then, the now 24-year-old has created content regularly. In September, he struck the jackpot, becoming India’s first YouTuber to hit 10 million subscribers. He even co-produced and acted in a short film, Plus Minus, that released on his YouTube channel in the same month.
His BB Ki Vines YouTube channel has 18 million subscribers and counting, which undoubtedly makes Bhuvan one of the most popular YouTubers and comedians in the country. He just has to release one video to get social media buzzing and as his manager, who also joins the conversation says, “he then pitches a tent and stays there for at least five days”.
A friend told him, “YouTube se paise kama sakte hai (you can earn money through YouTube), and so Bhuvan changed track. His breakthrough video was the one he posted on Valentine’s Day, and thus a star was born.
Characters that he plays!!!
The entertainer plays a set of 19 characters, The protagonist named Bhuvan Bam himself.
Banchoddas “Bancho” Chhatriwala, Bhuvan’s best friend.
Sameer , Bancho’s Cousin.
Babloo Ji, Bhuvan’s Father.
Jaanki Ji, Bhuvan’s Mother.
Titu Mama, Bhuvan’s Maternal Uncle.
Lakhan Chhatriwala, Bancho’s Father.
Babli Sir, Bhuvan’s School Teacher.
Mr. Hola, Antagonist.
all with their own quirks, mannerisms, idiosyncrasies and of course, followers.
The middle class family focused content!!
Bhuvan bam on his content said,“I am 26 years old now and have matured with age and time. I now believe my content should reflect the trials and tribulations of every middle-class household in India, in a funny way. It’s about yeh paani ki bottlein kyun nahin bhara (Why are these water bottles not filled?) or tanki check karo (check if there is water in the overhead tank), problems where the child is sandwiched between mum and dad – situations we can all relate to,” he says.
For Bhuvan, evolution has also meant taking different stands, like his recent video of Titu Talks, highlighted the plight of migrant workers and farmers who were affected by the recent lockdown. This is where, he says, he is also different. “I do not get into any kind of political or religious discussions. Yes, I do satire but do not indulge in any kind of insult comedy. I have 19 of my own characters I can insult,” he says, with a laugh.
Award-winning Talent!!
In August 2016, Bam released a music video "Teri Meri Kahani". This was followed by "Sang Hoon Tere", "Safar", "Rahguzaar" and "Ajnabee". He also appeared in a short film, Plus Minus, along with Divya Dutt which earned him a Filmfare award. In December 2018, he began a new digital series on YouTube called Titu Talks, which featured Shah Rukh Khan as the first guest.
In 2019 he released the song "Ajnabee" on his YouTube channel. The song has had more than 11 million views on YouTube.
He recently shot a video titled 'Lifeline of Society' encouraging viewers to raise funds for migrants in the Ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic.
Also, YouTube India is not paying creators the way it should. Maybe it’s because of clutter in the community with so many creators coming up every day, and so many people hitting a million mark every day. How can you monitor so many people?
So monetisation is getting affected. Which is where brands come in. Most YouTubers earn from a third-party brand.
Bhuvan's Generosity in pandemic!!
Comedian and YouTube sensation Bhuvan Bam has donated his entire YouTube earnings from the month of March to aid the battle against the ongoing coronavirus pandemic in India.
Bhuvan has donated Rs 10 lakh that, sources said, is to be distributed between the PM-CARES Fund, the CM Relief Fund, and the Feeding India initiative.
"Usually I prefer to not talk about these things but our country needs us right now, this is important and we need to go out of our way to help everyone," Bhuvan said.
"This is my way of showing my support to pledge contributions to the PM CARES fund, CM relief fund and Feeding India. I am grateful for all the people who are putting their lives at risk for our country and this is my way of giving back," he added.