Ever been stuck in a traffic jam at the Cortalim junction with horns blaring in your ears? Or imagined how the legendary singer Lorna would react if she saw a drunkard getting too close to the stage? Maybe been on an never-ending trek to one of Goa’s gorgeous waterfalls with friends who don’t know the way? In that case, you will be able to relate to the content that this generation of youngsters post through their reels on Instagram.
They can be called influencers with the kind of content they post for creating awareness yet their main goal is to entertain the audience even if it is just for a few seconds of the day. Their posts are so funny that one immediately hits the follow button which takes their followers in Goa and abroad
to thousands.
Vernon D’Souza, from Pirna, goes by his Instagram handle as being_vens and has nearly 4100 followers since he started posting reels in 2021. He believes that content is king and the formula to being in the picture of the quick ever social media scene is consistency. “I do reels on what I see around me or stories that my friends and I can relate to. The main criteria is that it should be humorous and something that people can have a conversation about. I follow a schedule of ideating and shooting the videos. Since my videos have got more popular, I now get requests from other youngsters who want to be part of our reels. Initially, it took me a long time to get followers but now the number is growing,” says Vernon, a website manager.
Albert Rodrigues became an instant hit when he tried to recreate how people who don’t know signature dance steps, dance confusingly at weddings and impersonating Lorna with a t-shirt on his head while belting her famous tunes. A graduate in philosophy from Dhempe College of Arts and Science, Miramar, this Caranzalem boy has touched on environmental, political and social issues too. I started creating reels in 2019 and I make it a point to post at least 2-3 videos per week. when the reels section was introduced in 2020, it made me think about videos that has fast scripting that was to the point. for my first reel, Idays which was very motivating. now, some videos have reached one lakh views too,” says Albert whose instagram handle is mr_voddalocks_69.
Rudr Ghotge from Corgao is a second year law student at VM Salgaocar College of Law, Miramar whose Instagram handle is rudra_avatar. From reels like how you feel when you buy a new car to the right code of enjoying BiryanI, Rudr has the right ideas. He even includes his mother, Rupa, when he wants to show how parents react to their unruly kids and she plays the role to perfection. “I want to show authenticity in what Goans can relate to and what one could feel on a personal level. One of my first videos that went viral was about a bald man crying by the side of the road when the Chief Minister announced that there will be no potholes (khadde) on the roads from November 1, 2021. Even the girl roles are played by boys only with a duputta to add comedic effect,” says Rudr.
Viraj Phadte from Marcel is often creating funny reels with Rudr yet both have their own styles. He goes by the Instagram handle _we_raj_. A student of Goa College of Music learning the harmonica, Viraj’s expressions are really hilarious. “I check on all the trends on Instagram which can be given a Goa twist with humour. I used to make Youtube videos but I now like this format as it reaches a wider audience even faster. I try to upload at least one reel in two days,” says Viraj, who recently created a reel on how relationship status changes bring about disaster in the life of a person, who was single.
The Instagram handle, amisusegad, is run by Akshay Ghadi from Aldona and Rajat Naik from Saligao. “We created reels on issues like girl safety, periods, rape and dignity of jobs. We sit together and work on ideas and plan the shooting for the weekend. Every creator has their own fan base but their reach depends on the content,” says Akshay, who works as a food and beverage cost controller.
These youngsters have used a social medium to reach out to an audience and bring a smile even on a dull day, especially during the pandemic. Their hard work has now found more followers for their up-to-date content and trending reels.
