New Delhi, Dec 18: Love and hatred are the part and parcel of working with the new age media. Internet sensation Prajakta Koli, who will soon be completing five years as MostlySane which has more than 4 million followers on YouTube, says she never gets affected by haters. In fact, sometimes when a regular hater doesnt comment she feel concerned for his health.
In a free-wheeling chat with IANSlife, she speaks more about her journey in the industry, merits and demerits of working with the digital medium, her upcoming projects and more.
Excerpts:
How has your life changed over the years?
Koli: My life has changed immensely for the better since I have started my channel. Today through my content I can reach out to millions of people and hope to change their life in a positive manner. I receive emails and messages from kids all over the country wherein they share their problems or how my content has helped them overcome issues in their life. I feel extremely blessed to be living the life I am.
Whom do you credit for the success you enjoy today?
Koli: I want to thank my viewers, it is because of their constant love and support I am here. An immense credit also goes to my parents for having faith in me and giving me the encouragement to pursue creating content on YouTube at a time when not many knew what being a YouTuber entailed. Lastly my family at One Digital Entertainment who have helped me every step of the way.
How did you get into the digital world? Please share your story with us.
Koli: I was one of those nerdy kids who knew what they wanted to do right from the age of 10. The dream was to become a radio jockey and everything I did was focused towards attaining this goal. I graduated and started working at a radio station, I even got to host my own show however it was nothing like I had hoped it would be. That was when Hrithik Roshan had visited the radio station to promote his film Bang Bang, being a massive fan, I went and shot a very stupid video with him. Sudeep who was working with Zee at the time saw me and suggested I start my YouTube channel. At the beginning, I was hesitant. However, after months of persuasion from Sudeep’s end I decided to give it a shot and there has been no looking back since then.
How has your journey been?
Koli: The journey has been incredible. In a couple of months, I will be finishing five years of MostlySane and there have been so many highs in this journey thus far. Because of the channel, I have been an ambassador of YouTube’s global program Creators For Change, been invited to the UN Headquarters in New York to be a part of their International Day of Tolerance and for Goalkeepers an initiative by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. I was the first creator to have the opportunity to sit down and chat with Susan Wojcicki about future plans for YouTube. And the most important thing is the love that I have received from fans. Their love is the ultimate incentive and motivation I need.
Being in the digital space brings in the pressure of constantly producing content as the audience tends to forget artistes. Do you agree?
Koli: There is a lot of content that is being uploaded on various digital platforms. However, the audience on the digital platform is very different from any other platforms, it’s not like if they watch one creator’s content, they won’t watch another creator’s content. They engage with a variety of content from multiple creators. The competition isn’t much of an issue. However there are those moments when you feel the pressure of creating regular content but then again that is all part of the job.
Everything has some merits and demerits. Please underline a few of them when it comes to working with the new age media.
Koli: The merits are that you get instant feedback, you upload a video and instantly you get to see the likes comments, there is instant engagement with immediate feedback. The bad thing if you look give it that authority is the hate you receive online. I thankfully don’t get affected by haters in fact sometimes when a regular hater doesn’t comment I feel concerned for his health.
The success got through internet is said to be short lived by many. What do you think about it?
Koli: I don’t necessarily agree with that, there have been creators who have sustained their success through the years.
Your upcoming projects?
Koli: There are some really exciting projects I have been working on, I have finished 2 and am heading into another one soon, and unfortunately I can’t disclose anything but rest assured it is amazing!
