Prajakta Koli on Her Journey, Chai Love and More

Prajakta Koli is the most renowned name in the YouTube content creators in the industry (no exaggerations here!). A simple Thane ki mulgi turned a mega YouTube sensation through sheer hard work and consistency. Her content has something for everybody and truth being told, I think the lockdown has had a great influence on her creativity. Getting into a fun conversation with Smriti Raizada, she tells us all about her journey, her chai love and well, a lot more.

Ex: Congratulations on being a part of Top 100 Digital Influencers. Tell us about a change you’ve seen in yourself since you started out your journey?
PK: I have become more conscious and I also, understand my responsibility much more towards my content and my audience. I have also become a lot more confident.

Ex: Can you give us an insight into social media platforms that only an Influencer can know?
PK: We all love each other and have a lot of respect for each other. There is no hate amongst us as per some beliefs.

Ex: What would be your calling in a parallel universe?
PK: I would maybe have a Chai ka Tapri considering I have started making mean mugs of chai thanks to my very knowledgeable chai critique friend Sudeep Lahiri.

Ex: If you were stranded on an island, what are the 3 gadgets you’d take along?
PK: For once, I would not like to take any gadgets. I would rather take – Food which would be dal rice and Chicken Tandoori, Books and a Pillow so that I can nap!

Ex: What’s been your favourite encounter with a fan so far? (DMs included!)
PK: A very recent fun thing that happened is that all my fan clubs on Instagram decided that 19 May 2019 is going to be dumb day and they made some really lame and dumb posts deliberately and they are very proud of it! (haha!). If you see some of these posts you will find them equally hilarious. I think it was my best Sunday ever where I lied in my bed and browsed through them! Another one was the meet and greet I recently had in Mumbai when we had to shut down the registrations in 48 hours since we had 10,000 entries! Eventually, I met about 7000 people and hugged so many of them and clicked pictures. It felt really special because I met them for real and interacted with them and it wasn’t like I was meeting just usernames!

Ex: Social Media is known to expose vulnerabilities, with influencers being at the epicentre. How do you deal with the dark side that comes with the medium?
PK: I think we need to know where to draw the line ourselves before we blame the medium, the influencers or the people. I was very clear when I started what aspects of my life I wanted to speak about. Just by maintaining the boundary and respecting your own privacy as well as that of the people around you sort of makes it so much easier. I never sit down thinking that ok how to deal with the dark side because I don’t indulge in it.

Ex: What does success mean to you?
PK: Success means happiness. Not just mine but everyone else who has worked and been around me. If they are as happy as me then I would call myself successful.

Ex: Do you think Influencer Marketing is a fad? Where do you see this space five years from now?
PK: If it would be a fad then it would have started and stopped by now. But the fact that it’s still going on and fetching successful results shows that it’s not a fad. I think it will hopefully boom in the coming years going by the graph. No one saw it coming to be honest in the last 5 years, no one had an idea of how big it would be so there is no telling as such but I hope it gets bigger!

QUICKIES

Money or Fame?
Fame or in the Youtube language reach – So that I can reach out to as many people as possible with the content and make conversations effective.
Would you rather spend on a new phone or new clothes?
I think I would rather spend on new clothes.
Your current travel book?
“Seriously I am Kidding” by Ellen De Generes. But a sad thing is that I don’t get to read it while traveling a lot anymore because of this sudden new found discovery that I get motion sick!!
A show you’re currently binge-watching?
Game of Thrones
An unusual app on your phone?
Matchington Mansion. It lets you clean the mansion, furnish it etc. Basically a décor app.
The secret to your perfect feed?
In terms of editing I use Snapseed, VSCO. However, I don’t like editing my pictures a lot. I only use it for colour correcting. My motto is to make my feed to look happy. As long as it’s happy it’s all good.
A Quote you live your life by:
The me inside me is the me I will be.
Is the quantity of followers enough for someone to be called an Influencer?
I think quality of content matters more. Also, followers can be brought, but the authenticity of engagement is where one gets to know the actual reach and impact.