The curious case of Prajakta Koli

Prajakta Koli with husband Vrishank Khanal, whom she calls her “best friend”. In a recent podcast, Koli said, “I don’t have to explain my chaos to him. He just gets it. In the world of situationships and games, stability is the most underrated feeling”. Pic/Instagram/@MostlySane

What is the biggest freedom and privilege we, the scrollers on social media, enjoy? It's the freedom to judge the influencers. We can like them, hate them, troll them, talk smack about them, or worship the ground they walk on - that's our prerogative. If we are giving you the views, we have the right to give our bindaas opinion.

Of course, there are many who abuse that freedom, and then those need to be reported to the cyber cell, the police, or be blocked forever. But for the rest of us, hating or loving the influencer is a daily sport. And it's that love-hate relationship I have with Prajakta Koli.

I remember vaguely the Koli of 2015, when she used to make comedy sketches and post on YouTube as MostlySane. She would play characters lampooning different people in a family - mom, dad, bhai, behen. Some were funny. She was palatable.

Fan fests and all later, she was the star of Netflix's Mismatched in 2020, then she was on Time 100 Creator's list in 2025, then appointed as the first UNDP India Youth Climate Champion in January 2022, and also won an Emmy for the Creators for Change documentary, focusing on girls' education. And then she wrote a book - called Too Good to be True - and truly, it's not good. But hey, you can't say she wasn't trying lots of different stuff.

But somehow, the girl next door as she looks and feels, I have had a hard time warming up to her. I remember meeting Koli during a story I was doing on creators and their merchandise business, and she had quipped, that her sorted and sensible image was "boring". And thought she comes across as warm and straight talking, she has a palpable air of a kind of defensiveness, which could be misinterpreted as a chip on her shoulder.

That could be the reason that even when I watch her usual content on social media, which includes her dance reels, I can't get onboard with her. It's as if she knows she annoys you, and she is trying hard to not get bothered by it, and be her fab self anyway.

But I may be reading too much into it. Recently, I watched her interview with another social media enigma - Ranveer Allahbadia. And somehow, despite all my discernment, I enjoyed listening to her. She shared valuable and candid insight. For example, she said, "The nicer you are, the more you are mistaken, the more you are taken for granted, the more you are walked all over on. You have to learn to loudly ask for what you want." Maybe it's that attitude of hers that comes across as arrogance, and then makes her unlikeable? But, now, as she said that, I quite liked it, and her. She makes sense.

On marriage, she says, "Love stops feeling like chaos when you marry your best friend. There is no more anxiety about where he is. All the overthinking just disappears. I don't have to explain my chaos to him. He just gets it. In the world of situationships and games, stability is the most underrated feeling. So don't run away from commitment. Waking up next to your best friend is not boring, it's the only thing that keeps you sane." I liked that, too. Despite living in this world of social media, she knows her priorities, and is giving out a good message to young, impressionable minds who follow her, the ones who mistake anxiety for butterflies.

Maybe it's in the nature of being an influencer - someday you will be palatable and inspiring to all who follow you, and someday they will cringe at your sexy dance reel. After listening to Koli on the podcast, I realised she knows all the trappings of fame - but she also knows where she comes from (she spoke about her parents and the support they have given her), and she has chosen a partner who helps her feel safe and loved. This girl really doesn't need us to like her, because she seems like she likes herself.

As she says, answering a question about a life skill she wishes everyone learns, and I would like to quote her to end this column, "Being kind to yourself. When you shut the light at night, the voice in your head needs to be an angel, not a devil". We agree.

See you next week.

Ranting and raving about all that's trending on social media, Aastha Atray Banan is an author, creator, podcaster, and the Editor of your favourite weekend read, Sunday mid-day. She posts at @aasthaatray on Instagram.
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The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.