Influencers that made it to OTT platforms

Reminiscing on the past is not appreciated. But let’s do it just to analyze something, okay? Remember the time when people were just discovering the whole concept of influencer marketing? When they were realizing that if you take celebrity endorsements from television ads to social media you can open a whole new market. When they thought that to become a social media influencer cannot be considered a legitimate career. Cut to today. Influencer marketing accounts for a market of billions of dollars. Every internet user follows at least one influencer on at least one social media platform. Influencers have moved beyond their social media platforms and have discovered other streams of work.  

Today, influencers have started their own business, they have become educators, speakers, social workers, and actors. In the past couple of years, a lot of top Instagram influencers, YouTubers, and internet personalities have been working in feature films, short films, and series. It’s no secret that they do get a lot of backlash and criticism for it. But, as long as the end product is good, we as the audience can consume any content of these influencers, isn’t that right? 

Cinema is a big business. It has a large audience, huge viewership. Filmmakers, casting directors are realizing that social media too is a big business, has a large audience, and of course, a huge viewership. Hence, they want to work with social media influencers.

It’s only fair to say that they are casting many fresh faces from the social media fraternity to garner more audience from their platforms. Because of this, they are not only unlocking the possibility of reaching new audiences, but they also bring fresh talent to the industry. 

For the past couple of years, OTT platforms have been on a roll. And you are bound to see a lot of social media influencers on films and series on these platforms. But if you haven’t, then you are going to find this list very helpful. See, if you can spot your favorite social media personality or influencer on this list. 

  1. Mostly Sane

From being a radio jockey to being an Indian Youtuber to being an actress, Prajakta Koli aka Mostly Sane has tapped onto all kinds of content creation. Over the years she has accomplished many heights in her career, landed on widely recognized projects, and now she’s shining in the cinema world. Apart from many social media sponsorships, Prajakta was also featured in a TV commercial for Whatsapp. She has released her short film Khayali Pulao, she garnered a tremendous response for her performance in the Netflix series Mismatched and now, she is all set to star in Dharma Productions’ film Jug Jug Jeeyo. 

  1. Bhuvan Bam

Bhuvan Bam started his YouTube journey back in 2015 with the quips of his daily shenanigans as a teenager. He initially began uploading his videos on Facebook but moving on, he became a sensation on YouTube mainly amongst the teens. He was a top comedy influencer before the idea of influencer came into place. Bhuvan has performed many characters in his skits and they all struck with his audience so much that he started a YouTube series called Titu Talks that featured him playing his famous character Titu Mama. He interviewed celebrities as well as non-celebrities on his show. Bhuvan first began his acting journey on the web series TVF Bachelors Season 1. He made his short film debut with Plus Minus opposite Divya Dutta. Soon, we will see him in his new project Dhindora. 

  1. Kusha Kapila

Kusha Kapila has been the face of video content ever since her iDiva days before she became one of the top Instagram and body positivity influencers in India. Her impression of South Delhi girls created a hullabaloo on Instagram as well as YouTube. Kusha is popular amongst both millennials and Gen-Z. She later started her own YouTube channel and made independent content for her social media. She made her acting debut on Netflix in Ghost stories, an anthology film. Kusha stars in the segment directed by Karan Johar. She garnered a positive response for her performance in the film. 

  1. Dolly Singh

Dolly Singh is popular on Instagram for many things. For her honesty, transparency, smart content, and for her impeccable ability to create and play many characters. She started as a fashion blogger in her early days. Her journey from iDiva to Netflix was not easy and if you are one of her 1 million followers, then you have seen it yourself. Dolly Singh has acted in many YouTube skits, personal Instagram content, and last year she made her Netflix debut alongside Swara Bhaskar in the series Bhaag Beanie Bhaag. Aren’t you eager to see her in many more acting projects? Us too. 

  1. Sahil Khattar

You must remember Sahil Khattar from his famous expeditions and interviews on the street of Mumbai with Being Indian. He rose to huge fame through her YouTube work featuring on the two channels, Being Indian and Khattarnaak. Moving on, he also worked as a TV host with shows like Dance India Dance, India’s Raw Star, and India’s Got Talent. He is now soon to be seen playing Sayed Kirmani in Kabir Khan’s 83 starring Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone. 

  1. Sherley Setia

Shirley Setia is known for her incredible singing career. She started her YouTube career before even coming to India. She was very keen to make it big in Bollywood. Today, she’s not only a huge singing sensation in Bollywood but she’s also set to make her acting debut in Bollywood. Shirley has already started her acting career with her debut on Netflix in the series Masks. Next on her journey is starring in Nikamma, an upcoming Bollywood rom-com. 

  1. Sumukhi Suresh

Sumukhi Suresh has always been at the core of content creation as a comedian before it became a thing on Instagram. She has worked as a stand-up comedian, writer, director, and of course, actor. She has worked on many comedy sketches. She has written and acted in her YouTube video series Behti Naak. She also has web series on Amazon Prime, Pushpavalli, created and acted by Sumukhi Suresh herself along with Naveen Richard, Manish Anand, Preetika Chawla, and more. She has also co-created the Amazon Prime Video show Go Straight Take Left, with Naveen Richard. 

What’s common between all these content creators turned actors is that creating and playing various characters has always been at the center of their work. They figured why content creation beats curation and went on with the same. It was only a matter of time, till they discovered even bigger platforms to showcase their acting skills. 

There are many doors open for Instagram influencers today. There are many influencers who started their own business, influencers who are actors, writers, educators. For them, there’s no limit to exploration and we as the audience are in full support of it and looking forward to seeing many more upcoming talents on various platforms. 

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