Comedy alert: One comedian, multiple characters, all thanks to video filters

The new-age comedians don’t need a director, a big production house or a huge budget to get people hooked to their craft. A selfie camera, and apps offering picture and video-altering filters are enough for them to enthrall viewers with their multiple characters online. Like how Gaurav Gera aka Chutki and Shopkeeper also plays Billi maasi, Garam Dharam and Baarish. And Mallika Dua is known for her avatars such as Makeup Didi, Komal, Kanchan and Smylie Jenner. All this, while these comedians are on the go.

“The process becomes so easy with filters in apps like Snapchat. Filters give me the ‘get up on the go’ feel, I don’t have to wear lipstick or a wig (he does that for Chutki and Shopkeeper), and I can make videos anywhere without people even getting to know,” says Gera.

Mallika Dua agrees that “it’s fun” and the creative process is not hard. “However, churning out content everyday sure is! Kam videos post karo toh people ask for more, and if you post too many videos, then also they complain. I’m more about quality rather than quantity. So, I post only when I feel like,” she adds.

More names riding high on the multiple-character wave? Comedian Bhuvan Bam who makes YouTube videos on Group Studies and Dr. Sehgall, and Rahul Subramanian who plays Manoharan and Tobasco in his funny videos. “You meet so many interesting people in real life. You see a character, you become that! Manoharan is a combination of three different uncles in my real life,” says Subramanian.

Ad guru Prahlad Kakkar gives a thumbs up to the trend. “The whole idea is to increase your fan base. The net has empowered comedians for that. Snapchat is just an aspect of it, but through social media they are going viral. These artists can freely express their views, they can take a revolutionary attitude and the government cannot control them,” says Kakkar.