Who are among India’s most popular YouTubers?

Comedy, cooking, gaming and satire rules the roost for India’s mostly Gen-Z content creators on YouTube

Pop culture today is all about you. Nope, we aren’t saying this but YouTube is. The YouTube Culture Trends report (2022) states, “We found that digital culture is now all about personally relevant content. In fact, 65 per cent of Gen Z (online 18-24 year-olds) agree that content that’s personally relevant to them is more important than the content that lots of other people talk about. Individual viral videos—the Davids, Charlies, and, yes, even foxes that broke through in the past—are becoming increasingly less central to trends in a world where audiences and creators prioritise moments that matter to them and their lives.”

Indian YouTubers are the rule and not an exception, in the sense that almost all the top accounts are those that have creators expressing themselves through food, dance, comedy, geeky knowledge or just plain old satire.

As of April 2022, India was the country with the largest YouTube audience by far, with approximately 467 million users. The United States is at second spot with around 247 million YouTube viewers. Amongst these 467 million users are content creators who are quite the stars for the Indian populace. Given just how male-dominated the list of the top ten Indian YouTubers is, we have, for the purposes of this feature, profiled six women and five men who dominate the Indian YouTube universe.

CarryMinati: 36M subscribers

Comedian, gamer and rapper, the young lad from Faridabad, CarryMinati aka Ajey Nagar, first uploaded a YouTube video in 2010 when he was only 10 years old. He began with videos about football tricks and tutorials, eventually moving on to mimicry videos. In 2019, Time named Nagar among its Next Generation Leaders, a list of only 10 young people from around the world. The following year, Forbes Asia pegged Nagar in their ‘30 under 30’ list. He has two channels on YouTube, the second one being CarryisLive with 11.1 million subscribers. His Instagram following is at 15.9 million, add to that his Twitter following of 2.8 million. All in all, Nagar has gleaned a staggering following.

Total Gaming: 32.9M subscribers

The mystery gamer—who is only known as Ajay—is said to be a techie professional from Gujarat. But that’s just speculation as he’s never confirmed his identity. “Ajju bhai,” as he is called by fans and detractors alike, is the top Indian gamer on YouTube and has an additional 3.3 million followers on the ’gram too. For non-gamers, it’s mystifying how a channel that livestreams his gaming activities with live commentary has such a wide audience. But he does, so lump it.

Ashish Chanchlani Vines: 28.4M subscribers

An engineer-turned-comic and YouTuber, Ashish Chanchlani’s most recent video ‘Sasta Shark Tank’ with 47,605,126 views is quite a hilarious take on the Indian version of Shark Tank. An aspiring actor, the cherub-faced Chanchlani has made videos with Bollywood biggies: Shahid Kapoor and his idol Akshay Kumar, besides frequently collaborating with his sister Muskan Chanchlani in his satirical videos. He’s pretty much the boy next door, with Bollywood running in his veins.

Techno Gamerz: 27.5M subscribers

What you read is what you get. Expect to see videos about mobile-related games and gaming news by Delhi boy Ujjwal Chaurasia, who is also on Instagram with 2.1 million followers. His followers seem enraptured by his non-stop commentary while he’s gaming.

Round2hell: 26.8M subscribers

Run by a trio of friends, Round2hell is primarily a comedy channel by Indian singer-rapper Nazim Ahmed and his two best friends Zyan Saifi and Wasim Ahmed. Hailing from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, Ahmed and his friends put together satire that is based on popular events; EPL for instance, which is a take on the Indian Premier League. Other videos are lengthier, almost movie-ish with a cast of characters, sets, music et al.

Nisha Madhulika: 12.8M subscribers

Whipping up easy-to-follow, vegetarian recipes, Nisha Madhulika is followed by hordes of young people living away from their homes yet wanting to eat food that’s probably as close to what’s made by their mums. At 62, she is wildly prolific and has even been dubbed “Noida’s Nigella Lawson”. A far cry from Lawson, Madhulika’s popularity stems from her daily videos that are sure to end the ennui of what to make for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Shruti Arjun Anand: 9.91M subscribers

A YouTube star from Jhansi, Shruti Arjun Anand is a former IT professional. On YouTube, she has a decidedly perky presence and usually starts her videos with a resounding, “Hey guys!” Anand churns out content related to beauty, fashion and comic sketches–a cocktail that seems to work for her audience. It’s all in the family for Anand: she not only works with her husband but also with other family members, running YouTube channels including Shruti Vlogs, Anaysa, MyMissAnand, Cook with Nisha and LafanGay. Her 11-year-old daughter Anaya has her own channel too.

Prajakta Koli: 6.71M subscribers

The quintessential girl next door, Prajakta Koli recently made her big Bollywood debut with Jug Jug Jeeyo. Best known for her YouTube channel Mostly Sane, Koli is bubbly without being annoying and often espouses causes close to her heart such as mental health, education for the girl child, creators for change and so on. In January this year, Koli was appointed Youth Climate Champion by UNDP India. Her story is refreshing as she has been candid about her failure as a radio jockey that eventually led to her becoming a YouTube sensation.

Anisha Dixit: 3.05M subscribers

Formerly known as “Rickshawali,” Anisha Dixit is an actor who stars in bilingual (English-Hindi) comedy sketches that feature her in multiple roles: mother, brother, boyfriend, you get the drift. An NRI, Dixit was born in Germany and has grown up in Switzerland. Dixit’s bright videos offset her unhappy childhood experiences that she has previously shared with her audiences (all set against a highly melodramatic music score!). Now based in Mumbai, Dixit has hit the jackpot with her success as a YouTuber.

Sonali Bhadauria (LiveToDance with Sona): 2.58M subscribers

After quitting her job with Infosys, Pune girl Sonali Bhadauria plunged into the world of YouTube success with her sizzling dance numbers. Bhadauria mainly shakes, jiggles and rolls to Bollywood numbers that ensure her follower numbers are climbing upwards, given how obsessed we are with the movies.

Sherry Shroff: 328K subscribers

Scherezade aka Sherry Shroff says she’s an accidental YouTuber. She began working as a model at the age of 16, went on to study law and then became a full-time content creator. Shroff makes fashion and beauty videos, does make-up and hair tutorials, loads of DIYs, vlogs and interviews with social media stars including her older sister—celebrated stylist Anahita Shroff Adajania. Shroff’s cheery presence is a bonus and she pulls off a range of videos from “How to make a will” to episodes devoted to budget dressing.

Also Read: Are digital content creators redefining influencer marketing?

Also Read: 10 content creators worth following on Instagram

Also Read: How are Indian influencers strategising to grow their businesses?