SANDEEP HEBLE
For every successful video that goes viral, there will be dozens that fail to hit the mark. Good marketing. Good content. Good distribution. Some novelty. Some sensation. Some luck. Sometimes controversy. These could be some ingredients to propel something to success.
What does it take for song or a video or something to go viral? Sometimes, it might just be a wink, which happened in the case of Priya Prakash Varrier, a little known actress who turned into an overnight sensation. With more than 15 million views on Youtube at last count and still going strong, it was strange to explain how this 30 second clip from her upcoming Malayalam film “Oru Adaar Love”, went insanely viral. And yet it did. This video turned Priya Prakash Varrier into a national heartthrob. In just 2 days after its release, her Instagram account swelled by over 2 million followers. As did her Facebook Page. Her co-actor, Roshan Abdul Rahoof, the boy who made her wink, too made his way into young hearts with a legion of admirers of his own.
So what was it that got everyone hooked? Perhaps a lot of factors. The fact that this clip came nearly around the same time as the Valentine’s Day with love in the air, two young new faces, some beautiful expressions exhibited by these two actors, and campus love which could relate to each one of us must have been major attributing factors. More importantly, this video struck an immediate emotional chord with its viewers.
And it is this emotional connect which can delightfully touch many hearts. The clip touched us and we began sharing it. Among our friends, among our relatives and even among those whom we would hardly know. Within a matter of a few hours, the see sawing of eyebrows were trending and within a matter of a couple of days, the clip soared to roaring heights.
The basic principles of what makes something popular hasn’t changed. The product has to be good, there has to be some novelty factor, and there has to be something cute, something sensational which can stir your imagination. I can recall, during our college days, a little known Pakistani singer Hasaan Jahangir shot to fame with his Album “Hawa Hawa”, which became immensely popular. In those days, there was no Internet or Social media platforms. So our source of listening songs was either though the All India Radio programmes, or by purchasing Audio cassettes. But in no time, this song and a few other songs from this album became a rage. In every school and every college, the youngsters began humming this song.
This was soon followed by the freshness of the movie “Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak” songs, and two new faces Aamir Khan and Juhi Chawla, became the next heartthrobs of the Nation. Then, came a song which went like “Ek Do Teen Char Paanch Cheh”, two versions, one by Alka Yagnik and another by Amit Kumar, simple lyrics, some novelty, which rose all their way to the top of the charts. Who can forget Madhuri Dixit’s dance, her delightful steps and the grace with which she executed this “Ek Do Teen” song. No sooner had the euphoria of this died down, then came another new movie, starring two more fresh faces, a pretty young Bhagyashree and a to-besuperstar, Salman Khan. South Indian singing sensation S. P. Balasubramanium added the novelty factor to the songs from this movie ‘Maine Pyar Kiya”, with the uniqueness of his voice. All the songs from this movie rocked, and the movie itself went on to become a huge blockbuster.
A good product will normally bring you success but sometimes, there is also an element of luck involved. No matter how good a song will be or how good the video has been made, it may struggle to make its way to the top. This is because of the frivolous and at times a whimsical manner in which the Internet works nowadays, where sometimes curiosity takes over quality. A rather ridiculous song and a video, Pakistan’s singer Taher Shah’s Angel took the internet by storm some time back and nobody could really figure out why. One tweet expressed this perfectly, reading: “This # TaherShah stuff is like cricket. It’s so very confusing to me but glad something’s trending in # Pakistan that’s not terrorism related.”
For every successful video that goes viral, there will be dozens that fail to hit the mark. Good marketing. Good content. Good distribution. Some novelty. Some sensation. Some luck. Sometimes controversy. These could be some ingredients to propel something to success. But a good product will always have the longevity factor. The quality of the product will eventually stay in your mind for long and that is eventually all that matters.
