10 years since the first video was uploaded on YouTube, the site is now “the most valuable storytelling outlet our planet has ever seen”, according to Academy Award winning producer Brian Grazer. Though India has just recently discovered the power and influence of YouTube as a virtual launch pad to some real fame and fortune, the website has been a treasure trove of videos that one would have never come across otherwise.
Here’s a quick look at some rare videos you can surf through thanks to YouTube:
Amitabh Bachchan’s BBC Interview of 1983
Watch this rare interview featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri by BBC on a show called Asian Magazine. The interview was during a series of Bachchan’s concerts in the UK and it was his first media interaction abroad after his near fatal accident on the sets of Coolie.
Aamir Khan Before the Release of QSQT
Watch Aamir Khan roam the streets of Bandra, drinking tea from a road side tea-stall, changing his shirts out in the open and requesting auto drivers to stick posters of his upcoming film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.
Shah Rukh Khan in Wagle Ki Duniya
This was just after Shah Rukh Khan moved to Mumbai but before he joined Bollywood. The actor was just getting started on television with Fauji. Shah Rukh made an appearance in one of the episodes of the popular sitcom Wagle Ki Duniya as a brash and spoilt youngster who runs into Wagle while driving his Maruti 800.
India’s First YouTube Sensation - Wilbur Sargunaraj
Much before the AIB and The Viral Fever made it to our web space thanks to YouTube there was Wilbur Sargunaraj, the guy tagged as ‘India’s first YouTube star’. This singer/ actor / stand-up comic / filmmaker’s funny videos on YouTube date back to 2007. Between then and now Wilbur has travelled the world learning how to dance the samba and taught tourists how to use the Indian latrine… all on YouTube. Take a look at Wilbur’s first video:
Most Watched Indian Video on YouTube – Why This Kolaveri Di
While the most watched Indian videos on YouTube are of the ‘Hot Midnight Scene’ variety, the most viewed non-NSFW video would probably be Dhanush’s popular music video ‘Why This Kolaveri Di’, which was uploaded in 2011. The video went viral across the globe inspiring a series of spoofs and cover versions both desi and international. The video has so far clocked an eye-popping 92,040,140 views.