Rolling Stone India – July 2019

July 2019 | Rolling Stone India | 45

B H U VA N

BAM

THE

FROM MUSIC TO COMEDY TO ACTING,

THIS INTERNET SENSATION IS ACING

IT ALL. WHAT’S THE SECRET?

U NSTOPPA BLE

B Y

RIDDHI CHAKRABORTY

PHOTOGR APHS BY

KUNAL GUPTA

ALL CLOTHING BY

UNITED COLORS OF

BENETTON

T

alking to bhuvan bam is a lot like catching up with an old friend.

He smiles a lot, listens with a patient ear and likes to grab every

opportunity to taunt playfully. "I loved that pink suit," he says of his

wardrobe from the cover shoot, knowing very well I had missed the

shoot and hadn’t even seen the photographs yet. He laughs at my

FOMO-fuelled frustration, but it’s easy to forgive because he’s just so damn likeable.

With over 14 million subscribers on YouTube, the New Delhi-based Internet

star has built an empire around video content that spans music, humor and social

commentary—all before turning 25. His channel BBKiVines chronicles the life

of an Indian teenager and his typical middle-class family through several quirky

characters—all portrayed by Bam. His content revolves mostly around awkward

familial situations, friendship, breakups and the like. The humor swings between

witty, crass and shock-and-awe, but it works because it is highly relatable. In North

India, you’d be hard pressed to find a high school or college student who doesn’t

know who he is. Bam’s snack-sized content has also been a favorite of WhatsApp

groups or Instagram DMs from the word go. In fact, the first time I discovered

him was when a friend sent me a link to one of his videos with the message, “Dude,

remember when we did this in college?”

COVER STORY