Raipur’s ‘village of YouTubers’ catches Collector’s attention, gets Rs 25 lakh studio

IAS officer Abinash Mishra, CEO of Raipur district panchayat, added, “The skill centre is expected to come up within three months (at a cost of around Rs 25 lakh). Budding artists will be taught about digital marketing, graphic designing and sound mixing at the centre since there is a lot of scope for entrepreneurship and jobs in these fields.”

Built at a cost of Rs 25 lakh, the studio has professional equipment for video shooting and editing, audio recording and a green room. (Express Photo by Jayprakash S Naidu)

Talking about the “talent” in the village, sarpanch Gulab Singh Yadu, 35, said, “Tulsi village was known for its Ram Leela during Diwali. Enactment of the mythological drama was an annual affair here since pre-Independence. Taking inspiration from their parents, who performed in these Ram Leelas, the current generation started making YouTube videos. Some of them are really talented.”

In the heart of the village, a colourful building announces the name of the new studio in crimson letters — ‘Hamar Flix’. What the name lacks in originality, the village’s content creators more than make up for in talent. Since the studio was inaugurated, officials said, besides a song and a reel, a video for the government has been made using the equipment available.

The village, which has a population of around 10,000, was thrust into the spotlight last year after a news channel’s story on 40 locals running their own YouTube channels. The content created by them ranges from traditional Chhattisgarhi music and Ram Leela re-enactments to satires, slapstick comedies, Bollywood spoofs and short films.

One of the beneficiaries of the latest digital upgrade is Keshav Vaishav, 34, a lawyer-cum-actor. His YouTube channel, ‘K Music’, features Chhattisgarhi songs and videos, has 57,000 subscribers and has received 3.2 crore views. Vaishav said, “I usually spend around Rs 15,000 on one music video and earn over Rs 1 lakh from the same. Thanks to the studio, I will save around Rs 5,000 per video.”

The studio was inaugurated on September 5. (Express Photo by Jayprakash S Naidu)

Jai Prakash Verma, 30, a postgraduate who writes content and directs short entertainment videos for ‘Being Chhattisgarhiya’, a YouTube channel with 1.22 lakh subscribers and 2.45 crore views, said, “It takes hours to edit a video using a laptop. Even uploading a video takes very long. The studio will make the process much faster.”

Gyanendra Shukla of ‘Being Chhattisgarhiya’ added, “The studio will help save nearly half the time we currently spend on post-production processes. It will also help generate jobs for locals in editing, sound mixing, acting and directing videos.”

Abhishek Verma, 24, a graduate with a diploma in audio engineering, runs ‘GoldCG04’, a YouTube channel featuring rap, hip-hop, Chhattisgarhi and Hindi songs written by him. Stating that the channel has over 6,000 subscribers and 45,000 views, besides 40 videos directed by him, he said, “When I started my YouTube channel in 2018, I did not have Internet. I would use the Wi-Fi at the railway station and in college for my videos, which would take hours. While I have a home studio now, the new studio is heaven-sent for aspiring YouTubers. Not only will they save thousands of rupees on each video, they will also have access to professional equipment.”

For aspiring singer Madhu Kosle, 23, the new studio means “saving money and time”. Kosle added, “Earlier, I had to go to Raipur to record songs (pop and devotional songs, mostly in Chhattisgarhi).”

In the heart of the village, a colourful building announces the name of the new studio in crimson letters — ‘Hamar Flix’. (Express Photo by Jayprakash S Naidu)

Vaishav of ‘K Music’ added, “Like my family members, I too performed in the village Ram Leelas. We never had the money to go to Mumbai to chase our dreams, but YouTube and this studio have given us a fantastic opportunity to showcase our skills.”

Mishra, the district panchayat CEO, added, “We are in the process of signing an agreement with AAFT (a private university) to conduct professional courses. We are also reaching out to YouTube and other organisations for help. Many things have been planned to hone the talent in the village. For example, we’re planning to start a podcast with a Chhattisgarhi poet. A woman who runs a Chhattisgarhi food channel near Tulsi village will be encouraged to record here instead of going to Raipur (about 45 km away). Before the studio was built, some artists would go as far as Cuttack (nearly 500 km away) to record their songs.”