It is almost impossible to miss 27-year-old YouTuber Vina Fan’s recreation of Shah Rukh Khan’s Jhoome Jo Pathaan, no matter which social media platform one is on in India. Multiple news outlets have reported on her viral video. Vina is an Indonesian digital creator, based in Jakarta, popular for her Bollywood recreations. The dance video on her YouTube channel has a million views, and it is also viral on Instagram reels.
“From the day Jhoome Jo Pathan was released on the internet, I began looking for places in Indonesia that looked similar to the location in the song,” Vina said. The final product, with uncanny resemblance to the Pathaan song, is top-notch. “The total cost for making it was Rs 60,000,” said Vina.
Most of her budget for the song was spent in paying the dancers, and for lunch. “It took me days to do the whole song–one day I shot with the dancers, and the other with Ferdiansha who plays Shah Rukh,” she added. Vina bought the fabric and hand-stitched all of her outfits for the song.
First taste of fame
Shah Rukh Khan is Vina’s favourite Bollywood actor. Kareena Kapoor and Deepika Padukone come second to him.
In 2017, Vina travelled to Mumbai, just so she could get her pictures clicked in front of Khan’s house, Mannat.
Vina has always loved grooving to Bollywood songs. Her first recreation was from Aamir Khan and Manisha Koirala’s film Mann (1999), Tinak Tin Tana in 2020. After that, she also recreated Kaali Naagin Ki Jaisi from the same film, and the video has 3.7 million views.
Bali may be a popular tourist destination for Indians, but for many Indonesians, Bollywood is a favourite fantasy space. Not just Bollywood, many Indian TV serials and actors are also extremely popular in the country. Shaheer Sheikh even did an Indonesian TV serial because of his SRK-like popularity in the country.
Vina’s love for Bollywood is also because of her country’s culture. Vina grew up on a diet of Bollywood films and eventually made a career out of her love for them. She took up dance lessons and eventually became a choreographer. “I did freelance, and also worked with TV stations in Indonesia such as ANTV and MNCTV,” said Vina. But it was the Covid lockdown in 2020 when she finally took the first step toward viral fame.
After the popularity of her first recreation video, Vina decided to become a full-time content creator. With the eventual lockdown, it was more of a necessity than choice for her. She conceptualised and made videos on multiple Bollywood songs, including the wildly popular Suraj Hua Maddham from SRK’s film Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham(2001). The video has over 4.1 million views.
Also read: Shah Rukh Khan was India. And then India changed
Meeting her SRK
Vina earns around 30 million Indonesian rupee per month from her YouTube channel, which is roughly one lakh sixty thousand in Indian rupee. In addition to this, she also earns from brand endorsements, advertisements and collaborations. In fact, her recent popularity in India has had brands back in Indonesia make a beeline for her. She also started a perfume label named Delvina by Vin Fan one year ago, which is making steady profits.
Vina has a troupe of actors including 21-year-old Ferdiansha, her own Shah Rukh Khan. Her work played the cupid in the relationship. They collaborated for a song and soon fell in love. “She is very sweet, and extremely talented. It is great working with her,” Ferdiansha said. The duo appears together in many videos.
Other actors who are seen on her channel are Rizal Arga, who plays Salman Khan, Tama Kim plays Varun Dhawan and Jhody Seltha plays Shahid Kapoor.
Shah Rukh Khan too is a fan of the YouTuber. He sent her a personal message, praising her work and shared her videos on his Twitter handle as well. Bollywood actors to producers, all have taken note of the artist’s work and her meticulous recreations.
How sweet is this thank you https://t.co/TXgwElb8YE
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) October 27, 2020
Bollywood has made Vina’s dreams come true. She plans to continue making such videos but for now she is revelling in her social media fame. “I cannot believe the amount of love and appreciation I am receiving. I am truly grateful,” she said.