Digital creator Gokul Raj takes on everyday life appeal to all ages with relatable Kerala sketches

Digital creator Gokul Raj takes on everyday life appeal to all ages with relatable Kerala sketches

A green kurta and a dupatta are all that digital creator Gokul Raj needs to transform his bearded self into Amma (mother); a salt and pepper wig turns him into Achan (father). Gokul, a former radio jockey, says most content creators have a target audience, but he wanted to go for a page (@rjvjgokulraj) that would appeal to families cutting across age barriers.

With 306K followers, his strategy seems to have worked as his page has fans from all age groups.

His humorous sketches of everyday life in Kerala seem to have struck a chord with many. Says Gokul: “Initially, I was inspired by my mother, Swapna R Nair’s mannerisms and takeon certain incidents. I polished the content and posted it. The positive feedback was encouraging and many of my friend’s mothers wondered if their children had been sharing their experiences with me.”

As a radio and television jockey, Gokul was used to creating content for different media. But when it came to visualising the content, he realised he would have to up his game and so “I watched a lot of videos online to understand how it all worked.”

Over the last two-and-a-half years, he has become a popular figure with his interpretation of the generation gap, interactions with teachers, festive occasions and so on. The feedback convinced him that he was on the right track.

He adds that since his mother is a teacher, he also adapts some of her experiences into his videos that are so true to life and evoke nostalgia in viewers.

“Nevertheless, the father I portrays in my videos have nothing in common with my dad, G Rajendran Nair, a former IB employee. To play the Achan, I turn to my friends for help who tell me about their interactions with their parents.”