Shooting for the stars...

The 30-second-long scope to fame is what social media app TikTok offers to anyone without any discrimination. An app that found its base in India in 2017, has caught the imagination of all, irrespective of the societal strata they belong to. It is one of those applications, which allow the users to see videos, one doesn't have to search, one doesn't have to go through any search options or anything else at all. Users just have to open the app and things fall in place. Small videos involving content across genres, from action to emotion to comedy, are available on the application.

TikTok has become a rage among the country's youth. It sees downloads every day. It is so popular that when the news over its probable shutting down was being circulated, people were actually heartbroken. TikTok for some acts as a stress buster while for others, it is a means to kill time. For some it has become a way to explore their talent and for many, it is about expressing themselves without any barrier.

To be a TikTok star one does not need to have a Bollywood background. Those who have made it big on this app are common people. There are only a few, who have a following of as many as 18 million people. They are common people, many from the villages of India. People from tier-one, tier-two and even tier-three cities have made their presence felt on this video sharing application.

It would not be an overstatement to say that the application has brought about a kind of cultural change. The platform is available to the masses. It is through this app that housewives, college students, older adults, and young talents across class structures have found their own niche.

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Twenty-four-year-old Faisal Shaikh has over 18 million followers on TikTok. He is an internet sensation and if spotted on the roads, people would not give up on a chance crowd around him for an autograph. His popularity has been increasing by the day. Shaikh had only a few thousand followers two years ago, but now, he is one of the most followed TikTok celebrities. Shaikh's TikTok handle reads Mr Faisu.

Faisu's path to success and recognition is no less than a parable in dream fulfilment. Earlier, he used to solicit customers at Bandra's Hill Road. He would be paid Rs 50 daily for the work. Today, Shaikh owns an expensive bike. Faisu graduated from the Mumbai University. He started trying his hand at social media with Dubsmash, then he moved on to Musicall and later on, he shifted to Tiktok. 

This young icon gets advertisement offers and according to sources, will soon be seen in a music video. Faisu doesn't shy away from his past; rather he is a confident person, who says that he is doing what he likes to do. 

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While Faisu has a fan following of 18 million, there is also Faiz Baloch (21), who is garnering an active number of followers on the app. He has more than 7.5 million followers on the application. After completing his class 12 examinations, Baloch started working as a delivery boy. He worked at two different offices for six months, but could not devote his mind to it. One fine morning he resigned and started making TikTok videos. For his TikTok lives, there are thousands of viewers at any given point of time. Baloch goes with the name Faizbaloch on the app. 

Sadhan Faroqui, who was earlier an Ola driver, worked for as less as Rs 100 per trip and until last year, he continued with that profession. However, once while he was driving his cab, a fan and a passenger identified him. He went back home to seek a year for himself from his family and now, he is a TikTok celebrity who has more than 4.5 million fans. Sadhan goes with the name Saddu on TikTok. 

Adnan Shaikh is a name in the Tiktok World that many fans aspire to be. The app is mostly used by people to dub the voices of famous celebrities. Adnan recently posted a video of his own voice and soon people started dubbing that. Adnan is a known name who via Tiktok has got on to doing events too. At one point, Adnan said he has sold fruits on the streets of Mumbai. Today, when he steps out of his home he has to cover his face so as to not attract attention. In his area, he gets followed. 

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Hasnain Khan, a shy person, has more than 10 million followers on TikTok. He achieved fame after he decided to leave his job at his father's garment shop at Gandhi Market in Mumbai's King Cirlce. Today, people buy passes to watch his shows. Hasnain is known for his emotional videos. He has too many fans even on the streets of the city. 

While all these people are different individuals, they have shot to fame on and through the TikTok app. All of these people have put in a lot of effort and hard work to make it big.

A normal day for any of these celebrities start at 9 am. They decide on what they will shoot on that day and then, decide on a befitting venue. They finish the initial shooting at their respective homes and then, post 2pm they step out. 

“On a daily basis, we shoot between 2-6pm. We have to decide on a venue too. Most of our shooting is carried out in sunlight. After that, we spend our nights uploading these videos and until very late in the night, we spend our time thinking of new ideas that can be used the following day,” Faisu said. 

According to Adnan, on a daily basis, he shoots at least five to six videos. “We have to be very careful about the videos we shoot, we just cannot have any frame. Our frame should be proper, there shouldn't be another person in the background. It may spoil the video completely,” he said. 

The new celebrities have become so popular that they are also getting offers for events and are thus, monetising their popularity. Hasnain said that these days events and portfolio shoots are held for them. “People buy passes for our shows and we also attend portfolio shoots, where fans get the opportunity to click pictures and make videos with us,” Hasnain said. 

For celebrities like Faiz and Sadhan, this whole video-making process has changed their lives. Adnan said that with his popularity, new relatives have started coming up. Recently, Faisu was at his sister's wedding and many of his relatives were behaving like fans. They wanted to click pictures with him or create a video. 

While there are many who have made it big on the TikTok app, many like Khusboo Sangoi are on this app because they don't want to miss the new trend. “Once, on a WhatsApp story, I saw a funny video by a friend with a blinking watermark. As the Spiral Of Silence theory explains, under the 'fear of being isolated' I decided to download the app,” she said. 

Many users also use the application as a stress buster. On their way to work or after returning home, they scroll through videos to forget about the day.

It Takes Toil To Make A Mark

• Youth icons on TikTok hold events too for which people purchase passes 
• They say that making videos is a lot of hard work as it takes up their entire day 
• After shooting a video, they market and upload it and keep up till late in the night to think of the next day’s idea. They have to be very careful about the frame of a video 

How Death Unites

To know in detail about the mad fan-following or craze social media stars garner, one should keep in mind what followed the death of Danish Zehen and TikTok fame Mohit Mor in Delhi. Their funeral involved a huge crowd. There were people unknown to their families. These people were their followers on social media applications. In case of Zehen, there were news articles that said people would visit the spot where his car met with an accident and would shoot videos there and pay homage. His funeral procession had thousands of his followers, who had queued outside his house. Similarly, when Mor died in a shootout in Delhi, his videos were being repeatedly shared on the internet. Followers paid their homage on the TikTok app itself. With the coming of this new age, not only Bollywood, but also social media applications help build larger-than-life figures.