Mention ‘Bonosree’ to Assamese Gen Z and they are sure to burst out in laughter. For the uninitiated, Bonosree is not another version of the famous ‘Raku Da’ (Rajkumar Thakuria) who is everyone’s go-to option for memes. Bonosree, instead, is a character to whom all Assamese and non-Assamese who have resided in any part of Assam will relate. Her creator, Vishal Langthasa, is a Dimasa boy from the northeast’s Assam’s Haflong district.
The mention of Bonosree makes Vishal chuckle. After creating Bonosree for the Assamese YouTube fans, Vishal wanted to create a relatable character for the rest of the non-Assamese people of northeast. “Thus came Nijula or aunt Nijula who holds nothing back when it comes to reacting or criticising people. Nijula’s character, when closely observed, is the typical neighbourhood woman who will not think twice before putting you in an awkward situation,” laughs 28-year-old Vishal whose YouTube channel Chugli TV has more than 113,000 subscribers.
Bonosree created by Vishal Langthasa’s
Like Bonosree, Nijula too wears a tshirt for hair and has awkwardly done eye brows. Her appearance as Vishal’s over protective Dimasa-speaking provides comic relief. She also goes on to say “going out on Valentine’s day can cause ‘Corona.’”
Vishal, an agriculture graduate from Agricultural University, Jorhat is currently employed in a design agency in Mumbai. The lockdown, he is amazed to see, has sent the number of response to, and comments on, his older videos up.
“Most of it is from Assam. Even though I started the vlog four years back, the views have started going up after the mobile data connectivity revolution in the northeast region. With one mobile company announcing unlimited mobile data usage, things changed in the entire northeast,” says Vishal who is a huge fan of Lilly Singh and Ellen Degeneres.
‘A one-man show’
The vlogger’s inspiration to create the adorable Bonosree comes from his days in Assam. While at the AU, a batch of students went to stay in a village where they set out teach computers to students in the local government school. “I started learning Assamese, singing songs and also developed a taste for Assamese food. I couldn’t help noticing the way young students introduced themselves. The sing-song ‘nomoskar mur naam Bonosree, moi kobita likhi bhaal pau’ (namaskar, my name is Bonosree and I love writing poetry). Almost every kid had the same lines for an introduction. Those lines and the innocence of the students stayed with me even after coming to Mumbai to work. When I decided on a vlog to improve my writing skills, Ithere was no way I could avoid those famous lines. I am a one-man show and make vlogs. Almost every Assamese friend loved it when I sent it to them. So from Vishal I became Bonosree, a person who wears a black T-shirt on the head for hair,” he laughs, adding, “because when I set out, I didn’t have a wig. Now I cannot shift to a wig because Bonosree’s followers will accept her only with it.”
It took about almost four years for Vishal to earn recognition his videos to go viral. However, he’s not complaining; he’s happy with the organic growth and honest followers who love Bonosree and Nijula.
Vishal thinks his vlogs are loved because they are honest and packed with a little tongue-in-cheek humour . “The ‘relatable factor’ makes the characters popular across the northeast. The pronunciation of the English and Hindi words is not a mockery of how we speak. Everyone has a MTI (mother tongue influence) and there is no need to shy away from i ,” says Vishal is now recognised at airports and when he goes home or visits friends in the northeast.
As a content creator Vishal is happy that regional content is getting recognised. “I have done a few collabs with other regional content developers and the outcome is beautiful according to me,” he signs off.