BDS student Aditya Bhardwaj on going viral with Bengali content: ‘It started as a joke, now it’s my way of honouring the culture.’
For most NEET aspirants, the period after exams means a breather. For Aditya Bhardwaj, it was the start of a social media journey that has now made him a familiar face among Bengali audiences, despite him being a non-Bengali from Karnataka.
“I decided to start the channel — adi_purush — on a random day after giving my NEET exams,” says the 20-year-old Bachelor of Dental Surgery student. “I always had a comic and fun accent in Bengali. My Bengali friends kept encouraging me because I, a non-Bengali, was trying to learn the language. That pushed me to start creating Bengali content.”
The initial days were quiet. “The feedback was not good in the beginning. The reach was not there,” Aditya recalls. But a few weeks later, one video changed everything. “My Bengali content exploded with more than 600k views in a day. I received so much love from West Bengal that it was unbelievable. People with 2 million followers commented and liked my video. That itself was an achievement.”
What sets Aditya’s reels apart is their fresh, unpolished humour rooted in cultural immersion. And yes, it’s all him. “I have no team as of now. The ideation till shooting, all is mine,” he says. Friends Rajat and Ayushmann chip in with editing and have supported him throughout. “To create and deliver something fresh is a hectic job, so we started taking adequate breaks from social media to maintain quality.”
Off-camera, Aditya’s life looks very different. He is pursuing BDS at a central government institution, where “my whole day usually goes in and around the college, hardly giving me adequate time to work on other things.” When he does get time, he invests it in art and music. “I love listening to music from different cultures and try to learn about the culture that way. Apart from the reels, I have always felt a special connection with the Bengali and Odia people. They are my favourites.”
For Aditya, social media is both visibility and validation for his art, not just a money-making tool. “It’s a mixture of both. There’s no harm in monetising your art. But I never think about money when I’m making videos. It should just reflect the art, my respect for the culture, and love for Bengal. My art is visible through social media, which in turn gives me monetary opportunity.”
With a growing fan base and a full-time dental course on his plate, Aditya says the balance is tough but worth it. “The love I get from Bengal keeps me going.”
