A group of friends are making news with their videos on their love and friendship on social media. They call themselves Eruma Saani, and have nearly 390,000 subscribers on YouTube and 375,000 followers on Facebook. The Coimbatore-based group started the channel in April this year, by the 10 friends, all of whom have a background in visual communication. Each of their 11 videos so far has around two million views on YouTube.
The team is surprised by the success of Eruma Saani. “We had no response initially for the first two videos. But, things changed after the third. It was a huge hit and was circulated through social media,” says R Vijay, who plays one of the lead roles in the short films. The video that made people sit up and take notice was about people and relationships.
Joshua J Perez, the cinematographer of the videos has earlier worked as assistant cinematographer in Malayalam cinema. Asked about the channel’s name, Perez laughs, “I know it sounds weird, but that is the fun element. We initially selected ‘jigarthanda’ but I felt it was not very catchy. When I came up with ‘Eruma Saani’, there was initial hesitation, but it hooked the people! They tell me it’s the name that they find the most amusing.”
Vijay says how it was his search for an opportunity to direct a feature film that led to this. After college, he approached several producers but no one wanted to take him on. “I was fresh out of college and no one believed that I could do it at such a young age.” He took up wedding photography, but his dream remained. I felt that I should do something to make others believe in my talent and that is how the channel was launched.”
The team selects stories based on real-life incidents. “We sit together and brainstorm for ideas. When we did a video on break-ups, we portrayed our personal experiences or that of someone we knew. That way we know audience can relate to it,” says Perez. Their videos are also popular for witty dialogues.
Harija R, who plays the female lead, says that she enjoys playing funny characters. Of course, she says despite the fans, she gets abusive messages on social media, but “I have learnt to take it in the right way,” she says.
“There is a lot of expectation from the audience now. We have to keep up,” says Vijay. The team is now working on dubbing their videos into Malayalam. “We are also working on a feature film. You can expect it on screen by March next year,” he says.