Inside Anurag Minus Verma’s world of inclusive, incisive and existential art

Anurag Minus Verma

I must admit when I first spoke to Anurag Verma I was hoping to be greeted by Malhotra uncle's voice saying "kaise ho bachche…?" When that did not happen, I was disappointed briefly. Well, that's how gripping and immersive is his social media content.

Mumbai-based film-maker, author, and content creator Anurag Verma, also known as Anurag Minus Verma, is full of ideas that seem so unique but hit so close to home. In a world where exhaustion due to pretention is becoming more real every day, he manages to effortlessly disarm his viewers with his relatable and honest commentary.

But he is not your regular social commentator who would inevitably burden you with information without showing you how to process it. Anurag Minus Verma is an enabler who puts things in perspective as he makes you a part of his own journey of deconstructing the world around us. His resemblant animoji characters (Malhotra uncle being one of them), intoxicating mood edits from the gullies of India, bone tickling memes etc. only make this process much less daunting.

Also, the fact that he does not take himself awfully seriously or subscribe to the rat race of social media influencing and trends only helps him come closer to his audience as a real person rather than an unreachable influencer behind the screen.

In a conversation with mid-day online, the man himself gave a peek into his world of triumph and trivia.

As a graduate in visual arts and film-making from JNU, Delhi and FTII, Pune, he has obtained top-notch editing and film-making skills; his incisive sense of humour however, is an organic reflection of his mind that is always observing human behaviour.

He says his initial experiences of living in a giant city as Mumbai made him a more "conscious" artist. "There is so much to observe in this city. It's a massive wave of human experiences on display and one gets many inspirations just by observing people," he says.

While he is a man of many interests and professions, the lockdown drove him to start his satire platform where he would go on to share a piece of his mind. He posts subtle yet sharp commentary on societal biases and hegemonies in form of memes, animoji videos, video diaries, funny travelogues, and video memes. Barely does he indulges in social media trends or challenges.

"I treat my account as some sort of an art gallery where I put my stuff and also curate what is good on the internet," he says. "In addition to satire, I put rare music, share confessions made by followers and there are many more things."

He adds, "I try to explore both beauty and the existential ache of being alive and everything in my account loosely falls under the same theme. Humour itself is an existential response to the world around you."

A mention of Anurag Minus Verma's existential art would remain incomplete without a dive into his animoji characters that have gone on to create a life and space of their own on Instagram. His characters are inspired by the people we meet in our day to day lives and how they impact us.

First, there is Malhotra uncle, a rich businessman and a typical, regressive Indian uncle who thinks he is benevolent. His son Ronnie is a brat and a know-it-all who thinks he is woke but is quite the opposite.

Then there is Akela Alien who mirrors the exhaustion, helplessness, and borderline hopelessness of a forever empty urban life. We all relate to Akela Alien every time he says "lafde kahan khatam hote hain, zindagi me toh nahi hote bhai!"

But what inspires these characters and their mindsets? "Everything comes from my personal observations," he reveals. "I try to see how human beings are behaving. I try to study the stories on their faces, their accents and body language. Not because I am looking for content but because I am very curious about human beings and I can't help but observe details."

He goes on, "For instance, Malhotra uncle is based on a real estate broker whom I met in Delhi and he kind of duped me through sweet talk. Ronnie's character is based on my observations of students of elite institutes and also from "woke" people I see on social media."

But the interesting part is he does not poke fun on any one kind of people or ideology. He says, "I don't treat anything as sacred or beyond the realm of satire. I try to joke on almost everything." That's probably why he is not subjected to the typical, vicious internet trolling.

Not just an ace social media content creator, Anurag Minus Verma is also a Spotify podcaster who invites some really interesting artists from across genres to his podcast and tries to throw light on the other side of the coin which he believes is much more fascinating than mainstream art.

And I would say whatever he is doing is working because his podcast recently featured in Apple's top political podcasts in India. "I was quite surprised to see it featured among one of the top podcasts... Most of the other contenders in the list were major players who have a lot of money to shell in terms of equipment and funding. I work alone from my small room," he reveals.

While this achievement certainly made him happy, there is still a lot more to do he says. "These material achievements are a byproduct of how I spend my day. Even if I don't receive them, I'll go on creating every day because that's the only thing that makes me feel alive and provides purpose to my life."

But is social media influencing a part of his life's purpose? In his own nuanced way; he says NO!

"I am not a fan of influencer culture," he confesses. "Most people present to us an illusion of a good life and sell us their toxic positivity. This is false hope. Human beings must experience the full spectrum of human emotions to live a fulfilled life. Influencers sell us filter induced realities to sell soaps and creams. I see no truth in it."

Not even a year old, Anurag Minus Verma's social media community of political art consumers is growing with every passing day with some famous intellectuals of the country following and endorsing his work. It will be interesting to see if he manages to maintain the complex beauty of his world or eventually gives in to trends.

Right now, he only wants to focus on creating unique art. "Every day is about discovering and compensating for the imperfections of the world," he opines. "I spend the day creating things, struggling with ideas, having self-doubts and inner conversations. That's the whole process of creating art."

"I hope a space can be created where I am able to mix new kinds of political and visual aesthetics," he concludes.

Follow him on Instagram and if you liked his work, support him on Patreon.