Kerala medical students dance to Pakistan's 'Chai Wala', fame follows viral videos

How far would you go to become famous? On social media these days, it’s just about finding the right formula. From the Pakistani ‘Chai Waala’ to the ‘Pawrri Ho Rahi Hai’ girl, here’s a look at people who went from unknown to internet fame in seconds.

Recently, frontline workers and health staff across the world have been at the forefront of the battle against the deadly coronavirus. However, amid the pandemic, in a light twist came a viral video by two medical students in Kerala. Dressed in blue scrubs, Janaki M Omkumar and Naveen K Razak effortlessly danced to Boney M’s ‘Rasputin’ in their college corridors, pulling off some impeccable footwork and expressions. Naveen is in the 4th year while Janaki is in the 3rd year and both are trained dancers, and are part of their college dance team.

When 19-year-old Dananeer Mobeen uploaded a track of herself saying “Yeh Humari Car Hai, Aur Yeh Hum Hai Aur Yeh Humari Pawrri Ho Rahi Hai”, little did she realise that the 5-second clip was going to catapult her to fame. The video shot in the Nathaigali Mountains of Northern Pakistan caught on so hard that celebs from Mahira Khan to Deepika Padukone were all doing versions soon. Dananeer has taken up the content creator mantle with grace, becoming a blogger with more than 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

When budding photographer Jiah Ali shot a picture of this chai waala (tea seller) and shared it on her Instagram page in 2016, she had no idea that it would become a national sensation. Within few hours of the upload, the picture went viral on social media. Now 23, Arshad Khan is very popular and also bagged a modelling contract.

Ranu Mondal became an overnight hit after she was first seen at the Ranaghat Railway Station in West Bengal in 2019 singing the Lata Mangeshkar classic Ek Pyar Ka Nagma.Somone crabbed a clip of her singing and shared it on social media. Today she’s a playback singer in Bollywood, because of singer and composer Himesh Reshammiya.

Yashraj Mukhate’s mash-ups are viral memes in the making. He may have got his big break with the ‘Rasode Mein Kaun Tha’ mashup, but his latest is the ‘Pawrri Ho Rahi Hai’ tune that made both him and Mobeen famous.

Known for her Selfie Maine Leli Aaj, Dhinchak Pooja is a super confident pop queen that rose to fame in 2017. She also appeared in several reality shows like Big Boss Season 11 and Entertainment Ki Raat.

In another sudden viral video fame story, social media users in India came to the rescue of an elderly couple, in the Indian capital of Delhi, after an Instagram clip about their plight went viral. Reportedly, the couple had been running the stall for 30 years but were barely able to make enough money to buy stock for the next day, due to the coronavirus pandemic. #BabaKaDhaba was a top trend in India, and people started queuing up at the Dhaba (roadside restaurant), to support them. On Twitter, many offered to help the couple financially, while others announced plans for lunch at Baba Ka Dhaba. After the video went viral, big names in entertainment, sport and even commercial organisations came forward to help the couple.

Doppelgangers always make for interesting studies, as Rozi Khan found out. Now called the desi Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage’s ‘Game of Thrones’ character), waiter Khan’s changed drastically once his boss spotted the striking similarity. He is waiting in the wings for his big screen break and has to his credit a ‘Game of Thrones’-themed ad for food delivery service, Cheetay.

Entitlement made this one famous. In true brat-style clip, Vipin Sahu was heard in a 2019 video telling his paragliding guides -, “Bhai 200-300 Zaada Lele Bas Land Karade” [take 200-300 rupees more, just help me land safely.] He is now a popular YouTuber with 125K subscribers.

Somvati Mahawar’s 15-second hit ‘Chai Pee Lo’ was so popular back in 2018 that brands including like Netflix, ShopClues, Foodpanda and Mother Dairy followed her and took part in the meme.She turned content creator with more than 400 videos to her credit.