"Fame House valued us. It motivated us creators to create better content" says digital influencer Vishal Kalra - the winner of Fame House Season 1

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], January 15 (ANI/Mediawire): We have all been wooed by the growing tribe of content creators' month on month; their short, quirky and riveting videos have kept us regaled during the lockdown. MX Player's short format video app MX TakaTak provided them with a unique platform, to not only showcase their talent, but also to reward them through an innovative battle of fame.
This entertaining battle saw many an emotion - love, hate, drama, sensational fights and the fire to win - all of which you can watch in the MX Original Series MX TakaTak Fame House Season 1. This unique reality show saw 18 top influencers of the country put under one roof for 7 days and with all of them gunning for one thing - more fame.
Hosted in Goa, this digital first initiative had influencers from different cities come together to create, collaborate and chill - all while having fun, of course! These handpicked influencers from the MX TakaTak community put on their thinking hats to innovate and create new content that set new trends for users to enjoy and follow on the short format video app.
We chatted with Vishal Kalra - the winner of Fame House Season 1 to find out how life has changed for him post winning the reality show. Excerpts from the interview:
You have won the first season of Fame House. Were you expecting to win, or did you think the title will go to someone else during the show?
When I entered the show, there were no particular expectations, because there were a lot of big creators participating along with me. But when the show actually started, I realized that there was no partiality there. What you sow, you will reap, and you will get returns in proportion to your efforts. It was heartening to see that they were not promoting creators that only had a greater following, and everything was based on merit. After the first day, I was determined to do my best and win. I had no such expectations when I entered the show. All I had decided was I will enjoy myself, collaborate with other artists... I had not given winning a thought.
What does it feel like to be the first winner of Fame House?
It's a dream come true. I am an actor and have been a part of the industry for four and a half years. Every artist has a dream to see his /her photo splashed on hoardings around town. After I participated in Fame House, that dream came true. I am seen on so many hoardings, my friends call me up and tell me they saw me on multiple hoardings in the city. It motivated us creators to create better content. Fame House valued us. A lot of fan moments happened post my winning the show, now that they recognize me as the winner. A lot of new followers are also going back to the old content I had posted prior to Fame House, and appreciating the efforts, and have been messaging me about what they liked in each video.
Your followers have obviously increased after winning the Fame House... By what numbers have they increased?
Yes, my followers have increased tremendously post my winning the show. On MX Takatak they have increased to 2 Million and on Instagram they are now close to 4 Million.
What new things are your fans and followers expecting out of you now that you have won Fame House?
I get a lot of messages from people each day saying now they would like me to go a step ahead. I have been working on fulfilling those wishes these days by working on new content.
You are now a known face after winning Fame House. Any fan or follower moment you have had that you would like to share with us?
One day I was sitting in a restaurant with my friend and since it is compulsory to use masks these days, we were masked. There was a group of people at a table across that was discussing Fame House. The moment I removed my mask to eat, they recognized me as the winner, and approached me for selfies. It felt good. It is a dream of each artist that he has moments like these, as recognition always motivates artists and it happened all thanks to Fame House.
Do you think the concept of Fame House is really helping influencers?
According to me this is a great initiative, because till date no platform has taken the initiative that MX Takatak has taken. When we collaborate amongst ourselves, we do so with only one or two people. But at Fame House, we got an opportunity to collaborate with artists that were already established and had a huge following, in turn increasing the face value each creator.
Did you received any endorsement offers post winning the Fame House... Did any brands approach you?
I have been in talks with a label for creating a music album. Fingers crossed... I have also been in talks with 2-3 brands as well, so hopefully things will pan out and you will hear some good news soon.
What was your takeaway from this show, by participating and winning?
The biggest thing for me was that I could reach 500 Million people. That mattered to me the most. I used to make content even prior to Fame House, but I was not a known face, and nobody recognized me then. This reach of 500 Million will help me immensely, as an artist I will be able to leverage it to showcase my talent in front of so many people now.
What are your future plans post winning Fame House?
I want to enter television and films now. I am very excited and hopeful that things will work out in this direction soon.
What tips would you like to give the participants of the upcoming Seasons of Fame House?
We were challenged on the spot to do multiple things at Fame House. A creator is one who can think on his feet. You will not be able to show your real talent if you plan in advance. If you want to create something good, you will have to do it impromptu. My tips to the forthcoming participants would be to keep your ideas sharp, stay focused, don't copy anyone, trust your content, stay true to yourself. When you get a situation, try and create something in your genre. Comedy is my genre, so if at Fame House, I would have tried to do something different and said let me try doing dance, it would not have gone well with the audience or been as impactful. It is important to learn and grow. The best part of shows like Fame House is that it enables you to teach something as well as learn something from others. I collaborated with JD and Veerangana and did stunts. So, you should be hungry to learn new things and be versatile as a creator. It was a lot of fun, and given an opportunity, I would love to be a part of the next season as well as I am missing it too much.
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