Eight young wrestling fanatics are setting YouTube on fire with their desi take on wrestling videos
Suraj and his brother Mukut Jha battle it out
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With fireworks leading the way, two lanky young men posing as John Cena and The Rock confidently strut towards a makeshift arena to fight a duel in the presence of cheering spectators. But it is a third young man, draped in a saree, who is the show-stealer, as he lands punches on the duo, making them groan in pain.
Mukut (centre) with Salman Sheikh (left) and Suraj
Suraj Jha, co-founder of YouTube channel AngaarTv, says, "This is what we aim to do at Angaar. It is not only about wrestling, but about bringing a smile on the faces of those who watch our videos, too."
Crazy beginnings
The brainchild of Suraj Jha and his brother Mukut, the channel started two years ago thanks to an innocent craze for wrestling videos. "We grew up watching them," laughs Suraj.
The boys try out a move
It was during one such binge-watching session that the duo came across Joe Weller, a British YouTube sensation, who depicts signature wrestling moves in his videos with background commentary.
The channel, which uploaded its first video, Rap Battle, in 2015, has released over 30 videos since. They enjoy more than a million views, and the team (six more wrestling enthusiasts joined the brothers later) recently received the YouTube Play Button, which is presented to YouTubers who cross a specific milestone.
Aged between 18 and 24 years, the young men spend hours brainstorming ideas to create wrestling videos. They have even designed a wrestling set in their own backyard, at New Golden Nest Society in Bhayander East. What started with filming shots on the streets has now been taken up a notch as the team recreates the WWE set-up using wooden tables, mattresses, pillows, ropes and, in some cases, steel cages. When asked about funding, Suraj says, "We started by doing all kinds of jugaad. Now, we get funds from YouTube because of high viewership numbers."
Technical champions
So far, the team hasn't had to look outside for help to create the videos. "Salman Sheikh, who works at a mobile store, and Sanjay Kushwaha, a VFX artist, handle the filming and video editing. Mukut, a hotel management student, ideates," says Suraj.
Their journey, however, has been no walk in the park. "People used to think we were a bunch of stupid kids whiling away our time," he says, adding that it helped that their parents supported them. "But that wasn't the case with the others. We've had some mothers entering the ring to smack their kids."
What's next for the young men? "We want to start an independent wrestling circuit and, with each video, we come closer to our dream."
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