Rahul Bhatia: Earlier reality shows used to be funny and relatable, but now the content has become violent, and there is unnecessary drama

Rahul Bhatia is known for making pranks videos on his youtube channel titled VJ Rahul Bhatia. The Youtuber, entrepreneur and social media influencer has done seven reality shows, prominent ones being Channel V’s Dare 2 Date, Spiltsvilla, MTV Chat House. He is also the winner of MTV Chat House and Life Ok’s Welcome 2. He has also done Big switch and Date Trap on UTV Bindass.

“All these shows made me happy. There is so much I learnt,” he says before talking about how he became a YouTuber. “Lockdown taught me to become a YouTuber. I had nothing to do and we couldn’t go outside and shoot something as things were closed. So I started shooting with my mobile and shot small videos so that got me into YouTube and I started with zero subscribers,” he adds.

Rahul’s channel has 1 lakh plus subscribers and is counting… “I am thankful with all the love and by God’s grace soon we would touch one million. We upload comedy videos, prank videos, blogs, daily lifestyle blogs and short videos. The upcoming trend is going to be more short videos and reels because people these days don’t have time to watch long videos,” he shares.

Talking about the future of YouTube channels in India, he adds, “It’s bright and happening because most of the people now have removed the old cable connections and everything now is on the internet. All the channels and OTT platforms are there and you have to pay and subscribe to what you want to watch, but YouTube is absolutely free and it targets the middle-class segment as well, which is the maximum population in India. People can watch any videos for free, make their videos and upload.”

His wife Meenakshi Bhatia is also involved with his YouTube channel. “She is not just a part but the heart of the channel. There are so many people who are her fans and more than me they like Meenakshi. She is beautiful and wonderful, and people enjoy her expressions. People appreciate us as a couple and the kind of comedy videos and relatable content that we make together to make people laugh. Both of us together write scripts, ideate and edit. She is an equal partner and contributor. My goal as a VJ and YouTuber is to create good content that entertains people and connects with them. Our content has a tagline ‘khatam karne se pehle ek bar muskura dijiye’. I want to spread positivity in society,” he says.

Rahul reveals that YouTube helped me survive during the pandemic. “If YouTube wasn’t there then I don’t know what I would have done. It’s good that I have started YouTube and we are at a very good level. Thanks to my audience for enjoying my content,” he adds.

He is often asked about the reason for not giving acting a try. And, Rahul says that he was always keen on anchoring and VJ-ing, which is why he did not do any short films or daily soaps.

On the changes he finds in the reality shows these days, he says, “Earlier reality shows used to be funny and relatable but now the reality shows have become violent, and there is unnecessary drama. Shows in earlier times used to be natural, there was situational humour but now it feels forced at times. Too much drama seems to be the flavour of these new shows. I hope reality shows become real and relatable as they were before and spread a positive message.”