As content creator, Abhilash Thapliyal loves to initiate dialogues on social issues

Sheetal

Content creators have stolen the limelight from celebs. The viral videos and posts of creators are grabbing more eyeballs than celebs’ airport or gym looks and some of them are not even doing it for a living. Radio Jockey, an actor and a host Abhilash Thapliyal has developed many new characters such as JD Saab, Himanshu and Gang and revisited his old character Mufflerman.

Abhilash has initiated a dialogue on many issues that concern him and others. The latest being his reverse experiment where he gets clicked in popular poses that a female model has to do, just to point out the objectification of women in media. He says, “I was really uncomfortable posing like that and while it really made me question the meaningless poses, it also helped me come to terms with my own body. I have skinny legs and one would rarely spot me in shorts, because in Indian society, body shaming is like a bonding exercise for relatives, friends and neighbours. I am glad that I am over this deep-rooted complex of hiding my legs which has something to do with my childhood memories.”

About fake news that has become prevalent with digitialisation, Abhilash says, “As a student of journalism, I am deeply saddened at the standard of news reading and debates. The news readers are now competing with the daily soaps. I prefer print media for its authenticity.”

But never did he bring out a social satire driven by hate. Be it any topic, controversial or non-controversial, he first gathers all the facts and then forms his opinion. “I tweet my opinions every now and then, but I try not to impose them on anybody with my work. It may appear I am different than other influencers for I do not do paid promotions. My job as an RJ is enough to support me, what I do as a creator is to satisfy the inner artiste in me.” Asked to choose another influencer whose content he enjoys, Shibani Bedi is on the top of his list.

Abhilash, who was in Delhi to shoot for an upcoming web series, says, “It was a good escape from sitting at home and also got to experience the winter in Delhi. My parents live in Delhi, so I got to spend some time with them as well. I will be doing a cameo in that show.” In 2021, his aim is to get back to kick-boxing which he could not do regularly because of the pandemic and the lockdown. “Also, I want to take up professional dance classes, not that I am bad at dancing,” he says. Looking forward to a short film, Paath, that stars Jackie Shroff and him, Abhilash would love to do some serious characters.