Unless you’ve been living under a rock, Dhinchak Pooja and a certain ‘Rap King’ have been creating a lot of buzz on your social media and both have probably left you wondering why. These unfortunate artistes have a cult following among the Indian youth categorising their style as “cringepop”. The ridiculous amount of confidence with which the artistes sing or dance in these videos, makes them so entertaining and there is no way that you can miss the humour. Gaurika Reddy, a student of brand management says, “It’s just that they’re so bad that they’re almost good. You can’t not play them on repeat given how mock-worthy they are. And as far as the cringepop artists go, any publicity is good publicity I guess.”
In several ways these artistes have created a delightful impact on the minds of the youth but this also brings to question if the thoughts that they represent are ones that the youth resonates with. A 2015 YouTube video of self-proclaimed rapper, Omprakash Mishra, which is an unnerving attempt to hit on the quintessential Indian aunty, went viral this year. The video created quite a storm as there was even a live event where several youngsters gathered in Connaught Place, New Delhi, simply to shout, “Bol na aunty aun kya,” the catchphrase of the song.
Meher Suri, a student of English Literature says, “The seemingly catchy beats of Aunty ki ghanti teamed with its lyrics makes for the most exquisite tribute to misogyny which seems to ring a bell with a sizeable number of the country’s youth shockingly both male and females as seen in the event created at CP, in Delhi. Lyrics of this sort was earlier seen in a very similar rendition called Kaash koi miljaaye which was a huge hit 10 years ago. I don’t know if I would be speculating here, but I feel a sizeable portion of the male youth seem to harbour a deviant fantasy of ringing aunties ghanti’s because of her faadu figure that she isn’t liberally sharing with the singer or rather the representation of the depraved Indian male who’s desperation is carving a niche in number of women’s ‘other’ message folders on Facebook.”
Cringeworthy content seems to make our day because really, who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh? Kartik Nihal, a graduate form Christ University says, “The unconventional and quirky nature of these songs makes them a hit. The like mindedness of a mob to follow trends also has its own niche. It’s another genre of pop I’d say and doesn’t necessarily make an impact on pop culture. You would be missing the point if you took this seriously.”
