I was happy even with 5,000 views: Ashish Chanchlani on becoming the second-most subscribed YouTuber in India

• Advertising and Media Insider introduces you to its latest property, The Influencer Adda, where we speak to social media stars and trace back their journeys.
• In our third episode, we speak to a Youth Icon, whose journey is an inspiration to everyone who dreams to do something out-of-the-box -- Ashish Chanchlani.
• Ashish has been ruling YouTube with his unique content. He is the second-most subscribed YouTuber and recently crossed 23 million subscribers.
• We speak to the social media star on his journey so far, vision board, fighting through depression, favourite jingle and much more!

Social media star Ashish Chanchlani, who is the second-most subscribed YouTuber and recently crossed 23 million subscribers, started creating content 6 years ago when becoming a YouTuber wasn’t really considered a ‘serious career’ option. Despite studying to be a Civil Engineer, he always wanted to become an actor. He gave up his dream when he realised the chances of becoming a Bollywood star with no contacts are quite slim. He stumbled upon Twitter’s Vine app in 2014 and started exploring the medium.

“I never thought my vine would go viral and it would become this ‘big’. I started vining as a hobby, as if it was a co-curricular activity. Soon, my videos started going viral all over the internet, people started tagging me and my Instagram page shot up. From there, I came on Facebook and then YouTube -- and it has been a crazy journey,” says Ashish, with pure modesty and disbelief.



Ashish’s journey hasn’t been all glamour and shine. He paved the way that took him to the limelight. He believes it was his relatable, unique and fresh content that brought him to the forefront.

At 23 million subscribers today, he still cringes when someone calls him an ‘influencer.’ He likes to be called an ‘entertainer.’

Walking us through some of the hurdles he faced, Ashish shares, “I did face a lot of problems. People would often joke about YouTube. “Who the hell does YouTube?” they would ask me. That was also this path’s biggest strength. It wasn’t as popular in India but I knew that it would rise. My relatives would tell my parents that I am making the biggest mistake of my life. I did not pay any heed to these comments and kept doing what I love. I was one of the first few people in India to make funny vines. My videos were quite unprofessionally-shot, with a weird background but that played to my strengths because people related with me, my journey and what I had to offer. They would see themselves in me.”

One fine day, when he was with his parents and a fan walked up to him and asked for a selfie was when he realised he’s becoming popular. For actors who claim to not like taking selfies with their fans, he says, “They are lying. Everybody loves attention.”

As a fellow Spiderman fan, Ashish also thinks that with great power comes great responsibility.

“There was a time when I was making anything that I would stumble upon. Now I look back and realise that I’ve made some mistakes. Now you would notice a sense of responsibility in my content. Today, I make sure we create content that feels right. We exaggerate just for fun,” he says.

Ashish recently launched a short film called The Dealer, which is out of his comfort zone. It was about creating a safe environment for women in India. In 2021, he wants to experiment with new genres and challenge himself to do more and more. He had also launched a horror short film called Office Exam last year, as a part of his unique series called ‘ACV Hatke.’

He is also content with his growth trajectory so far and has found his way of dealing with minor setbacks and disappointments.

“I was happy even when 5,000 people were watching my videos. You walk into a room full of 5,000 people and you realise that it is a huge number! My most watched video on YouTube has 9 crore views. That’s crazy, isn’t it? 9 crore is more than the winning prize in KBC (Kaun Banega Crorepati),” says Ashish, laughing out loud.

He now takes his time to churn out videos. Ashish told us that he and his team spend around 20 days to create a video. While he is experimenting with new formats, he would always stick to comedy and deliver what the audience wants.

“I find it very tiring to beat my last video. It is difficult to meet the expectations every time. I feel I don’t want to disappoint my fans with any of my videos. This happened after my Office Exam video. This ‘what next’ question always pressurises me. I am branching out now but you always have to revisit what made you who you are,” agrees Ashish.

Surviving a pandemic as an entertainer and working with brands in India

While dealing with the pandemic has been difficult for most of us, for someone who makes the entire country laugh, it is important to stay motivated and optimistic -- to keep your worries aside to make others laugh. As an extrovert who loves staying around people, Ashish did see a minor setback during the lockdown. He found it difficult to keep going but then, he started having one-on-one conversations with his fans to bounce back.

“A dark phase came into my life in 2020. I got affected by all the trolls and toxicity on the internet. I think that also happened because I was idle. I came across very negative comments from last year and it still hurts to read them because these people pull me down out of spite or jealousy. I couldn’t understand the motive behind these trolls, so I lost myself in this negativity. However, what kept me motivated were my fans. They would talk to me like I am their old friend. That was also one of my biggest highlights and strengths in 2020,” shares Ashish.

Star Sports was the first brand Ashish ever worked with and even today, brands reach out to him with abrupt briefs such as ‘Kuch viral bana do, Ashish.’

To these brands who approach him to just buy his ‘30 seconds’, he replies, “Things are different now. This (branded content) is not a TV ad. People don’t like watching ads anymore, doesn’t matterhow much money you put in. So give us the chance to marry the brand into our content, twist it and mould it in a way that we could present it to the audience. We can’t guarantee viral ads. We do guarantee viral content that would include their brand.”

On his screening process of selecting brands, he jokes, “I want money.”

After a few seconds of laughter, he says, “I want the brand to marry me rather than making it a business proposal. Most of the creators don’t talk to the brand after they are done with the content but I like to maintain a dialogue and get their feedback. I also ask them if they profited off my video and if they liked it or not. And brands are really happy by that. At the end of the day, they are also running a business.”

Ashish looks up to Fevicol for its advertising and marketing. He fell in love with Fevicol’s TV idea and likes the mystery they build.

“I have pitched similar ideas to my brands. I tell them that the audience shouldn’t know until the end what brand is involved behind the ad. They should just be left with the idea and what the product sells, not the product name. They should wonder, “Who is the brand? Kya ad banai hai?”

Advice for budding creators

Ashish has been in the content creation industry when it was just a baby in our country. His advice to budding creators is - Be Yourself. To those who are trying to break the clutter today, he says, “Study the market first and find out what people are liking and talking about. Today, something as random as ‘Binod’ starts trending. Give them something relatable but in your own style. Don’t try to be the next Ashish Chanchalni or CarryMinati. You won’t be able to replicate anyone. Be yourself because you have your own strengths and style. Mirror the environment you live in. If you live in a village that isn’t covered in the mainstream media, we don’t know what kind of comedy your society likes. Bring that for the entire country and they will love it.”