A Malayali uncle has bridged the North-South gap with all but one word. Reji Annan, singer and content creator, has North Indians hooked with his rendition of an old KJ Yesudas banger, Gange Thudiyil Unarum.
In his most viral video, Reji walks over to a water body, turns sideways to look at the camera, and belts out a soulful, semi-nasal “Gannnngayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy….”
With a choir of cicadas in the backdrop, the note stretches on so long that it’s almost meditative. And then the rest of the lyrics come tumbling out, shocking you out of your reverie—an instant magnet for Instagram virality. This week’s Viral Spiral takes us to the land of Yesudas and Mohanlal.
And now, of Reji Annan. The singer is on everyone’s feed—at least, everyone who is plugged in. In fact, the video has reached all the way to Saudi Arabia. The Gulf is hardly new turf for a product of Malayaliland, but the point still stands.
Whether you know the Yesudas original is irrelevant. Once Reji infects your feed, you won’t be able to get rid of him. Imagine my surprise when two out of three of my Malayali friends had never heard of him! But once I sent them one reel, and all they could find on their feed after was Reji—people remixing his endless note, miming to his inimitable vocal stylings, or saying they aspire to be as cool as him.
Reji is certainly not the first uncle to have gone viral. ‘Insta uncle’ Vinod Kumar Sharma is famous for his “marmik (poignant)” vlogs and warm advice. The videos feature him cooking, cleaning, and going for walks. Bijoy Deb, who posts dancing videos, is known to his commenters as a “diva”. And then there’s Rajamanickam Muthu, who posts fashion advice for Gen Z men—it’s often not good, but hey, that’s menswear for you.
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He’s a singer, not a meme
Unlike other influencers, Reji hasn’t hacked the algorithm by only doing one thing. He keeps posting videos of himself singing other songs. He’s a singer, not a meme. But like Andy Warhol proved, you’re only ever known for one thing in life. And Gange has become Reji’s Campbell’s Soup.
“No gangayyy no like,” say the comments under every other video. “I was expecting gangaaaaaay, sir,” some sad soul will post, adding a tearful emoji for good measure.
Reji knows how to treat his fans, though. On Vishu, he posted a different version of his famous routine. The video began with him saluting the camera with a sincere “Good morning!”
But as things go with fame, Reji gets a lot of hate comments, too. For every “He’s actually singing good,” there is a “Hamla achanak hua (the attack was sudden).” Laughter emojis and mocking GIFs abound. One is forced to wonder how much of his virality is rooted in racism. When it’s not in overt jokes, it can even be found in the pleasure of the ‘funny’ Mallu accent.
I would, however, prefer to believe that most of Reji Annan’s fans are there for the feel-good vibes of desi brainrot. Even when we’re laughing at the Gen X camera angles or the cheerful “good mornings”, there is endearment under it all. We love watching uncles thrive on social media.
Views are personal.