New Delhi: Adjusting the rear view mirror of her green and yellow three-wheeler, Sonali took one hard look at herself, her head covered with a green dupatta with flowers prints. But even before this blue-collar worker from Faridabad found her first passenger of the day, she made a short address to her 50,000-odd followers on Instagram with her newly purchased iPhone. “Hello guys, we are starting our day. I am leaving home now, I will keep you guys posted about my day”.
She then locked her phone in the glovebox and cranked up the engine before chanting “Jai Bhim” to start her day.
It is just one of the many videos Sonali will shoot while she drives around the NCR town. Two months ago, she started with a couple of hundred followers. The count has swelled. Neighbours, who have seen her struggle as a woman auto driver, call her “Jhansi ki Rani”. Often, when passengers sit in her auto, they recognise her. “Are you not that auto influencer?”
“People know me as Sonaliautodriver,” she claimed her new identity unabashedly.
Sonali is part of a growing band of blue-collar workers in India who are claiming their space on the Internet—from Instagram to YouTube and Facebook. On social media, painters, mason, construction workers, labourers, delivery boys, truck drivers are owning their work-lives unapologetically and are displaying to the whole wide world their skills, struggles and survival with a new swagger. Their life is no longer their private grind, it is being watched and shared by a content-hungry attentionverse. Truck blogger Rajesh Rawani cooking fish inside his cockpit, Blinkit Delivery person Benjamin Ryan’s personal care videos, or construction worker Dipak Mahto’s slice of life content from civil sites, blue collar workers have found a space that is free of judgement, not joy.
India has more than 80 per cent of blue-collar non-agricultural workers in organised and unorganised sectors, a Mckinsey and Company report noted. A report in Live Mint also claimed more than a lakh posts on different blue collar workers jobs on Instagram. Blue collar workers are contributing big to the creator economy, which started thriving in India with the onset of Instagram reels. Their content challenges the rigid Indian class system and the working class divide that is also underwired by caste bias.
“Social media is creating a wide range of virtual spaces and these spaces have their own grammar. That grammar at some level questions earlier structures of hierarchy and difference. We are witnessing democratisation of cultural images,” said Surinder Jodhka, professor and head of Centre for the Study of Social Systems, School of Social Sciences at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
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Cracking the code
It is seven in the morning, all four women at the Jatav household Faridabad sector 22 have woken up. While the tea slowly boils to the brim, Pushpa, the mother, cuts onion. She is rushing about to prepare breakfast for two of her daughters who step out daily.
Until four years ago, the Jatav family did not know the struggle. They had a small business, and all three children were growing up with middle-class aspirations. Sonia, the elder daughter wanted to become a nurse, Sonali, a make-up artist and hairstylist, and the youngest one was happily living her adolescence. Then their father passed away in 2021 due to Covid. The financial condition of the family deteriorated, the aspirations took a back seat. Overnight, survival became top priority.
Apart from the daily grind of riding her auto, Sonali sensed an opportunity in the internet space. She started out with singing and dancing content. In one of the reels posted in the beginning of the year, Sonali can be seen wearing a dark blue track suit. She is dancing on a Bhonjpuri song, Falana Bo Farar Bhaili. The video was shot with a very basic smartphone and made better by using filters. All the videos posted from then are super exposed with less contrast. The video has just about 300 likes. She didn’t have the iPhone then.
She wasn’t getting traction in the sea of dancers that dominate Instagram. She needed an X factor. Then she went for the mundane.
In April, she posted a video of her riding the auto. It is on this reel that she made the pitch to increase her followers count with a promise she will get on to YouTube once the goal was achieved. In the video, she takes the phone and shows the roads and lanes of Faridabad, sharing her life. Since then, she has been regularly posting such videos. Her identity has become the point of curiosity and interest and her follower count swelled.
Once she cracked the code, she has stuck to it. In one of the videos posted three months ago, Sonali talks on the camera in the selfie mode, she tells about her day.
In another video, Sonali, wearing a pair of black sunglasses says, “I have parked the auto outside ESI hospital”.
The quality of her videos has improved over time. The shabby visuals appear sophisticated with the iPhone. From a broken smartphone, to One Plus to an iPhone. And she understands the placement of the camera.
When her father’s transport business came to a halt after his death, the family had to sell everything. There was no one to look after it. But Sonali was adamant the auto would stay with her.
“He taught me how to drive the auto and four-wheeler. He was the man who gave me my career as an auto driver,” said Sonali, as she got ready, standing before a big mirror, a size that can only be found in a salon or a parlour.
Sonali’ house in Sector 22 Faridabad is chaotic. A now abandoned salon and a small shop inside the house mean there is little space left for family members to sleep. But Sonali is hopeful of pulling her family out of this crisis one reel at a time.
“I know the situation at our house is difficult, we are barely surviving, but I know we will get through,” she said, taking out a violet lipstick from a drawer full of make-up essentials.
Influencers such as Kusha Kapila or Sakshi Sindwani are very particular about how they look on camera. They never come on camera without makeup. Sonali realizes the importance of looks while trying to break as a successful influencer.
The large mirror is part of the now abandoned saloon her mother ran before she met with an accident. The yellow wax in the melter machine has dried up, powder, shades of lipstick, contour, foundation, all are stacked in the drawer. Sonali is in a haste. First the foundation comes out, then the contour, brush to make it all look smooth.
“I put on makeup before going on duty, it is essential. I feel good about it,” she said. A gentle tap and swish, and it’s all done. She wore a grey uniform which she has customised herself—a grey kurta-shirt and a pyajama.
Over Diwali and the festive season, Sonali took a break from her usual auto reels. She may not know a lot about algorithms but she won’t miss going where the internet traffic is. Dancing on Bollywood numbers, to mehendi reels, she keeps her channel busy with continuous posting. And it is starting to pay off. She has been interviewed on FM 89.6 and local Instagram channel thekolientertainmentpodcast. She has been featured in a local newspaper and is slowly growing in popularity.
Faridabad’s ‘Sonali Auto Driver’ Steers Through Struggles, Dreams Of Becoming A Lawyer, reads an article published on ETV Bharat.
“People now recognise me, when I am travelling in the metro or somewhere in Faridabad. People want selfies with me”, she added.
Social media has given a platform to the blue-collar workers to showcase their aspirations and desires and to remove the indignity often associated with their work. They have become stars in their own right. They have gushing fans who want to be associated with them. It has levelled the playing field of content creation game to some extent.
“Social media has made blue workers realise their importance in the Indian economy, their admiration for workers and their work. When we think about influencers we only think about Kusha Kapila or more, but the blue collar content creators are also influencers,” said satirist, writer, and filmmaker Anurag Minus Verma.
Together, they have formed their mini-industry.
49-year-old Rajesh Rawani is a truck driver from Ramgarh, Jharkhand. His work involves transporting goods across the country. Rawani, who spends 10 hours a day on the roads, loved filming his life. The ‘truck travel blogger’ would often record clips from his journeys—of food he came across, of mountain passes he would cross, of people and encounters. But when his sons stitched all the clips together and uploaded them on YouTube, it became a hit. It has over 4 lakh views today.
This viral video motivated Rawani and his sons to produce more content. Rawani is loved for the simple everyday life videos he creates.
Now his sons are part of his influencer journey, guiding him on the technology around social media. Rawani’s elder son Sagar travels with him and shoots his video.
Two months ago, Rawani and his elder son made a trip to Guwahati. The truck crosses the luscious green fields of Assam. They stop and enjoy the local ghugni (white peas curry) and puri. Dishes quite close to home. The video with over two lakh views has simple cuts, edits with good visual quality that make it appealing.
It has been more than five years since he started on his influencer journey. Rawani has 2.66 million subscribers on YouTube, and on Instagram around two million followers.
His latest video on YouTube posted on 21 October 2025, received 161k views in three hours. A simple video that shows Rawani and his son Sagar going back to their home for Diwali after buying a new truck in Punjab has more than 1200 comments, praising Rawani and his son. “You are doing great work” reads a comment. Viewers wish the duo “Happy Diwali”.
Rawani said he has received so much love from the audience over the years.
“I started showing viewers my regular and mundane life. My travels to different parts of the country. I show them culture, food, tradition and language. I show the positive and negative aspects.”
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Audience relate to content
Faridabad roads are already choked with men driving SUVs, trucks, and bicycles. It is chaotic. But Sonali is a fine driver. Sonali’s auto is around seven years old and often encounters snags. But for the young influencer, her auto, that she has named Chammki, is her only support. At least for now.
She starts the engine, accelerates, and takes a U-turn. Heads turn in this NCR neighbourhood when people see a woman auto driver. They are not used to this. Her first stop is a gas station where an all-men staff attends commuters.
The passengers in the neighbourhood recognise her and are supportive of her. “Nowadays women can do anything, and Sonali is excelling at riding autos,” said Bina, who has boarded her auto.
Meanwhile, Sonali tails the long queue, her Chamki sandwiched between cars and autos driven by men.
“It is not easy to be a woman auto driver. Men do not take us seriously. I have been taunted often that I am doing this work because I just want to be a star, but nobody understands by riding this auto I am able to take care of my family,” said Sonali.
Sonali’s journey as an influencer is still in its early stage. These first few months for any creator are full of struggle. At this stage, they have to grab the attention of the viewer, which Sonali is already doing.
It is now Sonali’s turn. She got down from the auto to pay for the gas. Her head straight, her sentences short, crisp and assertive. For a day, Sonali gets gas worth Rs 300 filled. It is time to get the customers onboard. She sped up the auto to reach the metro station.
She stands in the auto lane with other male drivers. Sonali is a bold, confident woman. Shoulders raised, she scanned the stand, like a soldier on the battlefield.
“Old Faridabad, metro station, Hardware Chowk,” she shouted at the top of her voice before managing to get the first passenger of the day. All this while a traffic cop hounded drivers to keep moving.
There are days when Chamki would stop in the middle of the road. It happened to be one of those days. Sonali was driving on the flyover when the auto stopped accelerating.
“It is showing the same problem again,” said Sonali as she changed the gear and accelerated, somehow managing to reach the end of the flyover to drop the passenger. What happens next has been documented on her social media. On her page, there are reels of her going to the tyre shop.
“I have come here to get this tyre repaired… I do not know why it always happens to me,” she said in a reel posted 25 October.
In another video titled ‘Miss you Papa’, she takes her viewers through one such workshop visits. “Today I have a lot of work, I will show you guys what I do for the entire day”.
She does not use any tripod inside the auto and shoots videos by holding the phone in her hand or a phone holder. It is this rawness in their content draws more attention.
“The content produced by blue collar workers gives a sense of belonging to home, the audience tries to belong to something which is not theirs. They find a sense of social comfort,” Jodhka told ThePrint.
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Acceptance of Reality
Benjamin Ryan Gautam, just like Sonali and Rawani, is not ashamed of the reality of his life—even when facing the camera. He tries to be himself.
In January this year, he made a video that catapulted him in the league of top blue-collar influencers. It was a 30-second reel about self-care. Nothing unusual about it. Except his expressions that made people stay with it. The reel has more than 4 million views and 41k likes.
Gautam, now 17, we have been asked not to use his age admitted it was a random video that he had made while getting ready.
While he received hate for putting makeup, Instagrammers also praised him for his hygiene habit. Few others appreciated him for his looks. And that’s how he entered the world of influencers.
“Men wear makeup before attending any special events, I also did, there is nothing wrong with that,” he told ThePrint.
Gautam knew the potential of social media since Tik Tok came to India. He needed a hook to start his career. The viral grooming video was his breakout moment.
“Viewers sometimes do not want to accept the reality that is shown on screen (of men indulging in self-care), but it is what it is.”
A few months down the line, Gautam got a job with Blinkit, an online quick commerce company. It went on to become part of his online character—a gig worker getting ready for work.
With time, his content grew to be daring, gutsier and charismatic. His follower count has swelled to 1.4 lakh followers on IG.
He jumped on to the trend of GRWM (Get Ready With Me). While Gautam gets appreciation for his confident presentations, he has also faced mistreatment from customers ordering groceries. Online perception is different from the ground reality.
“Some days I am called a Chappri (a slur) for the kind of content I create and the work I do. The audience behaviour has changed a little bit, the class difference is decreasing but at a slower pace,” said Gautam.
His latest reel on Get Ready With Me Diwali edition has got more than three lakh views and eight lakh likes. Wishing his followers a happy Diwali with a big smile on face, he said “it is time for GRWM… what I am going to wear that’s the biggest question.”
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Struggles, language and finances
Gautam comes from a family in Haridwar. What pushed him to move out of his house at the age of 17 was his own ambition. He wants to become an actor. But before that, he has become a star.
He studied in a CBSE affiliated school in Haridwar and John Cena and Roman reigns are his favourite. As a kid, he would watch the WWF, intently listening to the English commentary around the staged fights. That’s where he said his English comes from. He started speaking in broken English. He wants to increase his fluency in the language to increase his reach.
Gautam started his influencer career as a Tik Toker, where he made videos with his friends. The Chinese app got banned in India but Gautam was determined. Soon, he switched to Instagram.
“I want the global audience to connect, and understand my content,” said Gautam.
His followers range from delivery guys to actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas follows.
While Gautam emphasizes on learning English, Rawani makes all his videos in Hindi.
“Language is very important for grabbing the attention of viewers, we choose to speak in Hindi, because our viewers are from truck drivers to Anand Mahindra. Everyone understands Hindi,” said Rawani.
Sonali speaks a mix of Hindi and English. She welcomes people to the channel with a greeting in English, but quickly shifts to Hindi. She chooses comfort and spontaneity over rigidity.
“I speak the language I am comfortable in,” said Sonali.
It’s been more than an hour since her day started. She dropped passengers at a chowk, parked the three-wheeler at an auto stand and pulled the phone out of the glovebox to shoot a quick vlog. There is no script, only spontaneity. She is slowly figuring out what works and what not.
“Hello guys, aj hum yahan hai ….”, she gets interrupted by another auto driver.
“Oo! Tera toh tyre puncture ho gaya”. Sonali leaves the phone behind, she is exasperated. “What, where, How can it be? I have not seen,” she said, taking a look at the tyre.
It wasn’t flat. The man had just pulled a prank on her.
“This is common, I have gone back home crying on some days, but I cannot let these men win,” she added.
While the blue-collar influencers claim their internet space, they also want to bring variety to their content. Rawani started his journey as a content creator with truck travel stories. Later, he shot videos of him cooking inside the truck. And his latest set of videos is about the purchase of his new truck and how it’s being customised with a fridge and a bed. Gautam, who started with “cringe content”, later shifted to more sophisticated trends like GRWM.
In his videos, Rawani has always spoken about the struggles faced by the truck drivers. He has demanded drivers over the age of 50 be given pension. At an event in Delhi Rawani discussed how truck drivers’ lives can be improved in the country even as the bureaucrats listened.
“I never wanted to be known as a Blinkit guy, but I always wanted to be known as a content creator,” said Gautam.
Pawan Bishnoi, an electrician from Haryana, started his journey as a content creator on Tik TOK. When the app was banned, he shifted to Instagram. Bishnoi, who was relatively more famous on Tik Tok, has only 13,ooo followers on Instagram.
“On social media virality has become a factor, some videos get too much traction, but that attention of the viewers does not remain for a long time,” said Verma.
According to Verma, only one percent of the creators are able to get the kind of stardom Rawani has attained.
In one of the interviews, Rawani admitted earning more than Rs four lakh a month from Instagram alone. And in some months, it has crossed Rs 10 lakh as well. Rawani’s new house in his hometown is a testament to the success blue-collar influencers can achieve.
Sonali, who has just started out on her influencer journey, dreams to achieve a similar fate.
She plans to shift to YouTube soon and add more variety to her content. But at the same time, she is aware not everyone can become a Rajesh Rawani or an Aman Sharma.
Till success comes calling, her chamki will remain her daily calling.
Before ending her day, she counted her earnings. It was less than Rs 200.
“I have just earned Rs 200, and filled gas worth Rs 300.”
(Edited by Anurag Chaubey)