Only need a creative mindset to make a career in short videos, says actor and YouTuber Sushant Ghadge

The whole of India came to a standstill after the central government announced a countrywide lockdown on 24 March to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The lockdown forced many businesses, including the entertainment industry, to shut down and put many people out of work.

But it also opened up new opportunities for individual content creators and YouTubers. Sushant Ghadge, Marathi YouTuber, actor, and stand-up comedian, was one of those who seized this opportunity with both hands.

"Lockdown was a blessing in disguise for me," Ghadge told Cinestaan.com. "I remember, the lockdown was announced in the last week of March and I immediately began working on my content. Suddenly everyone was at home and had nothing to do.

"People wanted to watch new content because they had a lot of time on their hands. Sensing this opportunity I started uploading new videos at a rapid pace. You won't believe, in that initial lockdown period, I would upload four or five videos a week. And I was getting a really good response from viewers."

Ghadge started his YouTube channel in January this year. And today, he has more than 125,000 subscribers, placing him among Marathi YouTubers fastest to reach the 100,000 subscriber milestone.

"Honestly, I never thought I would cross this mark so quickly," Ghadge said. "It just happened. A lot of things were happening around us. There was a lot of confusion among people regarding the lockdown and the coronavirus, so I incorporated that in my videos and that's why I think people could relate to them because my content was reflecting what was happening in society at the time."

About the new short-video app Zinglin, which was launched in late October by UFO Moviez and offers content creators the exciting possibility of having their ultra-short films screened in cinema halls, Ghadge said, "I honestly feel this is a great idea because the medium is secondary, what matters is if your talent is getting the right exposure. I know some people criticize such short video format platforms, but the truth is they give you the exposure that you wouldn't have got otherwise.

To add to this, if your video is going to be featured in cinema halls, there is nothing like it! The cinema screen has a certain aura. You pay more attention to minute details when you are in the theatre. I still remember the artiste who features in Akshay Kumar's no-smoking advertisement. If I had watched that advertisement on a small screen I probably wouldn't have registered his face in the first place.

"So if UFO Moviez could use the strength of this medium, who knows, some guy from a small village might get a chance to feature on the big screen. This could very well be a life-changing event for him. So it's a really good thing for people like him that UFO Moviez has come up with this unique idea."

Asked what advice he would give youngsters looking to make a career in short videos, Ghadge said, "The first thing you need is good content. Everything else is secondary. YouTube is slightly more costly because of its algorithm and stuff, but after a certain point if your content is good things get easier for you on YouTube also.

"But if you feel YouTube is expensive, there are other mediums as well. You only need a camera and a creative mindset. If you feel you have a unique concept and people will relate to it, then just shoot it and upload it. It's not like if it took two years for someone to become a viral sensation, you will also take two years. Who knows, you might become viral in five months!"