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| Edited By: Siddharth Vishwanathan |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Jan 14, 2021, 03:06 PM IST
In the year 2020, in a world ravaged by the coronavirus, one video from India went viral and sent social media into a meltdown. The video, which was uploaded on Instagram, witnessed a man and a woman doing a gymnastic circular flip in slow motion. The remarkable thing about the woman's stunt was that she did a total flip while donning a saree. The saree, as an attire, is complicated for some and graceful for many depending on the kind of work. However, doing a stunt in a saree is something not many would have visualised. However, the stunt shattered all illusions. The video garnered over one million likes on Instagram and the perfect execution propelled her into stardom. A couple of days ago, this same individual uploaded a video where she did backflips with a saree and that got her immense recognition from Bollywood celebs like Vidya Balan and Raveena Tandon in addition to another viral video. After that one million viral video, her videos garner likes in the range of 200k to 650k. Her success story is an example of yet another small town individual creating waves as a social media influencer.
The woman in those viral videos is Parul Arora from Ambala, Haryana. Her stunts of doing the gymnastic backflip and flip in a saree is remarkable considering that when one sees professional gymnasts perform this stunt, they have the proper athletic gear to back them up. In Parul Arora's case, her determination to do something different is what made her a social media influencer wherein most of her videos would either go viral or win the internet. In an exclusive interaction with DNA, Parul Arora explained what made her do these gymnastic stunts in such a different way. "The videos that I make on social media is done with the intention that I present something different to people. I want people to be inspired by the video," Parul Arora said.
But why a saree? The idea was actually given to Parul Arora by her partner Michael Hoshiar Singh, the person who performs those stunts with her regularly on social media. In the one million likes viral video, Michael Hoshiar Singh is the one who dons a suit and does the flip while Parul Arora has a blue saree. "The idea of performing the stunt with the saree was actually Michael Singhs'. He had said to try something different. He told me that I have to try a stunt with a saree. In other videos, he has supported and motivated me to do something different. He has helped me a lot. When you go out to shoot the videos, you need some help. He is the key person," Parul Arora said.
The stunts that she does on social media might make millions of users stunned. However, what those stunts hide is the amount of pain and hours of practice that she puts in executing them perfectly. One close look at the videos reveals the heavy bandaging that she has on her legs and hands. Those bandages, Parul Arora, give her the buffer of a serious injury in the near future, having already suffered plenty of injuries in her career.
"I practice for hours. I have suffered plenty of injuries on my leg. For safety purposes, I always wear a bandage. I do not have much strength in my legs. If I remove the bandage, the risk of an injury increases. When I had gone for the nationals, I twisted my leg badly. When I was doing one of the videos, I twisted my leg twice. If I try and perform without the bandage on my legs and hands, I feel even more pain. This is the reason why I keep the bandage,' Parul Arora said.
Does Parul Arora do gymnastics only for social media? Far from it. She has actually won a gold medal in the National Championships and has been pursuing this ever since she was seven. Parul Arora thanked her father for exposing her to the world of gymnastics. "I have been doing gymnastics ever since I was seven years of age. My father used to take me to gymnastic centers in Ambala. He would take me to parks so that I can be fit. Once, he took me to a sports center where there were gymnastics being held. When I saw people doing it, I was inspired to take up gymnastics and since then, I have been pursuing gymnastics," Parul Arora said.
Despite her video going viral in 2020, Parul Arora was still impacted by the coronavirus as the lockdown meant that she could not meet anyone and the videos had to be halted for a certain period of time. Around the same time, TikTok and other Chinese apps were also banned and it potentially robbed her reach. However, Parul Arora said the ban on TikTok was actually a blessing in disguise and that the new reels feature of Instagram made her videos a success.
"The first video which went viral was shot around March. I had uploaded the video on TikTok but it did not work much there. When TikTok was banned, then I uploaded the video on reels on Instagram and it went viral. The reels feature in Instagram helped," Parul Arora said.
With the latest video receiving plenty of plaudits from Bollywood celebs, Parul Arora has said the determination to do something different has only increased. "I am delighted that I am getting recognition. Many girls are messaging me that they are inspired by me. These messages serve as motivation to keep trying something different every single time," Parul Arora said.
If one has to be a successful social media influencer, Parul Arora has these words of wisdom for people who want to make it big on social media. "They must try something new and different. Everyone thinks that if somebody else's video works, we should do the same. But, that is not the case. Individuals must do something unique and different which will make them stand out," Parul Arora said
