A VOLCANO ERUPTED IN ME: CARRY MINATI

people accused of disbelief when he was in a state mode Carry Minati says him into isolation drove Indian YouTuber this hatred and abusing and him of cyber bullying

In May, the now banned app TikTok’s review on the app store bombed from four stars to one star. The reason behind it was the 21-year-old YouTuber, Ajay Nager aka Carry Minati. His roast video, titled YouTube Vs TikTok - The End, almost became the most liked non-music video on YouTube in India in 24 hours. It was later taken down by the video sharing platform, alleging it of cyber bullying and abusive language. But Minati doesn’t agree. “I do not support any kind of cyber bullying, trolling, abuse and harassment, and I have disclaimers. I do get shocked when people react to my videos as a form of harassment, because that’s a total disrespect to my art,” says Minati.

His journey started at the age of 10, when he started posting videos on YouTube. In 2015, he came up with the moniker Carry Deol, posting videos of himself playing a video game, while mimicking actor Sunny Deol. It then became Carry Minati, as he started “roasting”. That’s when the then 17-year-old took the biggest decision in his life. He chose not to give his class XII exam for Economics, dropped out of school and decided to make videos for a living. “I’m glad I took the leap of faith, as no degree could have ever earned me the respect and the love I enjoy today by giving audiences an escape from commonplace monotony,” he says.

So, Minati “takes criticism in a healthy manner” and tries to “improvise”. However, at times, it does “disturb” him, especially when the criticism “is out of context or based on assumptions”. But, he puts that frustration to good use. The anger he felt after his video was deleted made him release Yalgaar, which now holds the record for most number of likes for a non-music video on the platform. “[After my video was deleted] I stayed confined in my room for days and bottled up the angst. When the volcano erupted inside me, Yalgaar was born,” says Minati.

Despite all the accusations, he doesn’t regret his choice. While he admits missing “regular college life”, he is happy he made a “bold” decision.