Inside Anurag Minus Verma’s world of inclusive, incisive and existential art

I must admit when I first spoke to Anurag Verma I was hoping to be greeted by Malhotra unclersquos voice saying ldquokaise ho bachchehelliprdquo When that did not happen I was disappointed briefly Well thatrsquos how gripping and immersive is his social media contentMumbaibased filmmaker author and content creator Anurag Verma also known as Anurag Minus Verma is full of ideas that seem so unique but hit so close to home In a world where exhaustion due to pretention is becoming more real every day he manages to effortlessly disarm his viewers with his relatable and honest commentaryBut he is not your regular social commentator who would inevitably burden you with information without showing you how to process it Anurag Minus Verma is an enabler who puts things in perspective as he makes you a part of his own journey of deconstructing the world around us His resemblant animoji characters Malhotra uncle being one of them intoxicating mood edits from the gullies of India bone tickling memes etc only make this process much less dauntingView this post on InstagramA post shared by Anurag minus verma anuragminusvermaAlso the fact that he does not take himself awfully seriously or subscribe to the rat race of social media influencing and trends only helps him come closer to his audience as a real person rather than an unreachable influencer behind the screenIn a conversation with midday online the man himself gave a peek into his world of triumph and triviaAs a graduate in visual arts and filmmaking from JNU Delhi and FTII Pune he has obtained topnotch editing and filmmaking skills his incisive sense of humour however is an organic reflection of his mind that is always observing human behaviourHe says his initial experiences of living in a giant city as Mumbai made him a more ldquoconsciousrdquo artist ldquoThere is so much to observe in this city Itrsquos a massive wave of human experiences on display and one gets many inspirations just by observing peoplerdquo he saysView this post on InstagramA post shared by Anurag minus verma anuragminusvermaWhile he is a man of many interests and professions the lockdown drove him to start his satire platform where he would go on to share a piece of his mind He posts subtle yet sharp commentary on societal biases and hegemonies in form of memes animoji videos video diaries funny travelogues and video memes Barely does he indulges in social media trends or challengesldquoI treat my account as some sort of an art gallery where I put my stuff and also curate what is good on the internetrdquo he says ldquoIn addition to satire I put rare music share confessions made by followers and there are many more thingsrdquoHe adds ldquoI try to explore both beauty and the existential ache of being alive and everything in my account loosely falls under the same theme Humour itself is an existential response to the world around yourdquoA mention of Anurag Minus Vermarsquos existential art would remain incomplete without a dive into his animoji characters that have gone on to create a life and space of their own on Instagram His characters are inspired by the people we meet in our day to day lives and how they impact usFirst there is Malhotra uncle a rich businessman and a typical regressive Indian uncle who thinks he is benevolent His son Ronnie is a brat and a knowitall who thinks he is woke but is quite the oppositeView this post on InstagramA post shared by Anurag minus verma anuragminusvermaThen there is Akela Alien who mirrors the exhaustion helplessness and borderline hopelessness of a forever empty urban life We all relate to Akela Alien every time he says ldquolafde kahan khatam hote hain zindagi me toh nahi hote bhairdquoView this post on InstagramA post shared by Anurag minus verma anuragminusvermaBut what inspires these characters and their mindsets ldquoEverything comes from my personal observationsrdquo he reveals ldquoI try to see how human beings are behaving I try to study the stories on their faces their accents and body language Not because I am looking for content but because I am very curious about human beings and I canrsquot help but observe detailsrdquoHe goes on ldquoFor instance Malhotra uncle is based on a real estate broker whom I met in Delhi and he kind of duped me through sweet talk Ronniersquos character is based on my observations of students of elite institutes and also from ldquowokerdquo people I see on social mediardquoBut the interesting part is he does not poke fun on any one kind of people or ideology He says ldquoI donrsquot treat anything as sacred or beyond the realm of satire I try to joke on almost everythingrdquo Thatrsquos probably why he is not subjected to the typical vicious internet trollingNot just an ace social media content creator Anurag Minus Verma is also a Spotify podcaster who invites some really interesting artists from across genres to his podcast and tries to throw light on the other side of the coin which he believes is much more fascinating than mainstream artAnd I would say whatever he is doing is working because his podcast recently featured in Applersquos top political podcasts in India ldquoI was quite surprised to see it featured among one of the top podcasts Most of the other contenders in the list were major players who have a lot of money to shell in terms of equipment and funding I work alone from my small roomrdquo he revealsWhile this achievement certainly made him happy there is still a lot more to do he says ldquoThese material achievements are a byproduct of how I spend my day Even if I donrsquot receive them Irsquoll go on creating every day because thatrsquos the only thing that makes me feel alive and provides purpose to my liferdquoBut is social media influencing a part of his lifersquos purpose In his own nuanced way he says NOldquoI am not a fan of influencer culturerdquo he confesses ldquoMost people present to us an illusion of a good life and sell us their toxic positivity This is false hope Human beings must experience the full spectrum of human emotions to live a fulfilled life Influencers sell us filter induced realities to sell soaps and creams I see no truth in itrdquoNot even a year old Anurag Minus Vermarsquos social media community of political art consumers is growing with every passing day with some famous intellectuals of the country following and endorsing his work It will be interesting to see if he manages to maintain the complex beauty of his world or eventually gives in to trendsRight now he only wants to focus on creating unique art ldquoEvery day is about discovering and compensating for the imperfections of the worldrdquo he opines ldquoI spend the day creating things struggling with ideas having selfdoubts and inner conversations Thatrsquos the whole process of creating artrdquoldquoI hope a space can be created where I am able to mix new kinds of political and visual aestheticsrdquo he concludesFollow him on Instagram and if you liked his work support him on Patreon