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Canadian tech influencer calls ‘Silicon Valley of India’ tag for Bengaluru ‘Illogical’

The Canadian influencer highlights how names given to the Indian entertainment industries are copied from Hollywood, such as Bollywood, Tollywood, Pollywood, Bhojiwood, and so on.

3 min readNew DelhiJan 12, 2026 09:23 AM IST

Caleb Friesen began the video with several comparisons of landscapes made by vloggers and content creators (Image source: @BawaalBulletin/X)

Travel vloggers and content creators often draw parallels between Indian landscapes and those in other countries, describing places as the ‘Switzerland of India’, the ‘Scotland of the East’, or the ‘Mini Europe’ of the country. However, a Canadian tech influencer, living in India for the last eight years, recently called such tags “illogical”, sparking debate on whether the country’s diverse regions should be appreciated for their own unique identity rather than being compared to other nations.

Caleb Friesen began the video with several comparisons of landscapes made by vloggers and content creators on social media: from Pondicherry to Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. He then goes on to highlight how names given to the Indian entertainment industries are copied from Hollywood, such as Bollywood, Tollywood, Pollywood, Bhojiwood, and so on.

“Another example of this is Silicon Valley. Bengaluru could have chosen the Aerospace Plateau because the city is literally built on the Deccan Plateau. It’s the opposite of any valley but they call it the Silicon Valley of India, which is illogical,” Friesen said in the video.

Friesen further noted how an X user told Zomato CEO Deepinder Goyal that ‘we need a Bryan Johnson replica in India.’ Responding to this, Goyal had said India needs to be its original self. Appreciating Goyal’s comment, Friesen said, “More people need to have this mindset. India is not X of Y, India is just is. That’s it. Period,”

Watch the viral video here:

“This isn’t Japan, it’s Bengaluru!”

Every year the pink trumpet trees bloom, and every year influencers compare the city to Japan with its sakura trees.

This is one example of a widespread bad habit: using derivative names/descriptions for Indian cities, landmarks, and people. pic.twitter.com/Pkm7w6XfvA

— Caleb (@caleb_friesen) January 11, 2026

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The video has since gone viral, sparking a conversation around the comparison of India in several aspects to abroad. “India have many beautiful places. But because of bad infrastructure and lack of promotion of these places, we never get to see about such places that they exist in India,” a user wrote.

“Absolutely right. Indian was first colonised for 200 years by brits and then a 100 more colonised us mentally. I am so glad that I can see the changes,” another user commented. “So true! It’s ingrained in our psyche, programmed to hate our culture and encouraged to seek external validation! Deadly combination,” a third user remarked.