I was rejected by all production houses, shares Viraj Ghelani

Viraj Ghelani (yes it's the guy that you see in almost all of FilterCopy's videos) is here with Social Samosa to share a few unrevealed tales.

You might've seen his famous videos like "That friend who cracks lame ass jokes" or "5 star hotel room presented by gujju", but you might not know that when Viraj Ghelani quit engineering to start off in the entertainment industry, he was rejected by all production houses he had auditioned at.

From rejections to an internet celebrity, Ghelani's journey is nothing but inspiring.

Who am I?

I am a content creator for digital entertainment at Pocket Aces.

My journey

I was pursuing engineering in Mumbai when I realised that my interests lie elsewhere. I was always into cultural activities in college and dreamt of making a name for myself in the entertainment industry. After I discussed my goals with my parents, I started going to production houses for auditions. But as fate would have it, I got rejected from everywhere.

That is when I started making my own videos on Snapchat. A breakthrough happened when my name got listed in an article by Buzzfeed India: Top 20 Indians you should follow on Snapchat. There was no looking back after that. I went on to share my content on several Facebook pages and Filter Copy happened to be one of them. After coming across my content, Pocket Aces (parent company for Filter Copy) showed faith in my talent and gave me a platform to showcase my skills. It has been 3 years now, and I could not be more thankful for the opportunity. I believe everyone at Pocket Aces has a contribution in my success.

What’s in the name?

This one is funny! I initially started my content under the name of ‘Fifty Shades Of Ghe,’ Where “Ghe” meant Ghelani

My mission statement

I believe in creating relatable content that is very basic yet insightful and humorous.

I create content for?

Millenials and people who enjoy light and fun content.

I had the most fun creating…

It was my first video at Pocket Aces on the KIKI challenge. There was a lot of jugaad behind it but being a first, it will always be close to my heart.

Also Read: Interview: Bhuvan Bam, in his own words…

I work with…

I have worked with brands like: Nyka Man, FBB, MX player, Tinder, Hotstar, bewakoof.com, etc

I am proud of…

My first TEDx talk. Even though I was very nervous, I am grateful for getting an opportunity to share my story, my hardships and my lessons with a very lively audience.

My WTF moment

Every time I meet a fan, I am caught in an embarrassing situation. Either I am towing my bike or being pulled by a cop! Also before joining Pocket Aces, I was unaware that both Filter Copy and Dice Media were their brands. I landed up pitching the same content to both of them, using the same words and “MASKAAS".

I deal with trolls by…

Touchwood did not face anything like that yet.

My favourite creators are…

Key and Peele.

Stay tuned for…

My own web- series, which is on the cards.

Are, you hiring?

Hopefully soon!