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Reaction videos have become a rage as a way to enjoy pop culture content with a virtual friend

Twenty-five-year-old Surat-based YouTuber Parbrahm Singh started a reaction video channel three years ago choosing scenes and trailers from Kannada, Tamil and Telugu films to react to. “My attitude previously was typically North Indian, generalising films from the South. But I have learnt to appreciate them. Intervals and introduction scenes are given great importance in these films, and the overall content is great,” he says, sharing how he takes a few moments to boost himself up before recording a video to ensure the reactions are spontaneous 
and energetic.

Reaction videos are part of the digital content explosion that the world has seen in the last two years of the pandemic, with creators capturing their emotional reactions evoked by films, trailers, web series and music videos on camera for their followers. But the genre is not new, says Singh, pointing out that news and roast channels also produce a kind of reaction video, the idea behind them being the same, where people watch these to learn of other people’s reactions to things. Confounded? The genre has attracted criticism from consumers of digital content for the apparent lack of effort that goes into making them. “People feel that they eat into the views of other creators,” admits Singh, who studies the films he reacts to, so that his audiences feel connected. Sharp editing work also ensures the videos remain crisp.

Abhay Pandit and Anindita Datta Pandit who run the reaction channel Mr. & Mrs. Pandit reacting to a video where various actresses speak about Tamil actor Vijay

The draw, believes Singh, is people’s adoration for actors, citing the example of Telugu actor Prabhas whose period sci-fi romantic drama film Radhe Shyam is slated for release early next year. He explains that fans, in their anticipation, watch every bit of content on the film available on the internet and resultantly will not only watch reaction videos, which discuss the film, but also become tertiary fans of the videos themselves, following their creators in the process. But just as positive reactions attract fans, negative reactions draw hate. Singh remembers criticising a film with Telugu actor Balayya, and it drew such censure that he had to make the video private.

Abhay Kumar Pandit and Anandita Dutta Pandit, who run the channel Mr. and Mrs. Pandit on YouTube, are also ardent fans of South cinema, along with the content created by YouTubers like Ashish Chanchlani, Harsh Beniwal and Bhuvan Bam’s Bibi Ki Vines. They started their channel in late 2019 after friends, seeing how they loved watching films, frequently asked them for their opinions before deciding to watch a film. They considered starting a review channel for some time, but YouTuber Jaby Koay’s reaction videos ultimately inspired them to start their own. The Pandits choose videos that viewers request them to react to, and believe that it is people’s need for company, even if virtual, as they watch something entertaining, that has accounted for the increased popularity of reaction videos. “It is the idea of watching with someone—a companion—that is the main attraction [of these videos],” says Anindita.

Nouman Mughal and Pallav Soni

But what about the element of surprise? Are these videos staged or do they always capture the creator’s first reaction to a film or trailer? Lahore-based Nouman Mughal who with UK-based partner Liza runs Reaction Waley, feels most creators pretend to react rather than truthfully reacting. Songs, trailers and comedy shows are also what they cover, along with sports highlights such as Yuvraj Singh’s historic six sixes, but largely avoid religious or political issues. The reasons behind the popularity of reaction videos is a cultural interest, he suggests. “For instance, Bahria Town is a famous gated suburb here and we want to know what Indians think about it. Similarly, Indian subscribers want to know what Pakistani viewers think of their shows. We are always interested in what other people think,” says Mughal.

This cultural interest is also what Hyderabad-based Hemant Kumar, 24, hints at, saying that he follows reaction channels run by creators from North India to learn what they think of southern films. Kumar also follows other channels like Ayyan and Aditi Reaction, Reactions by Suleman, Anurag Sharma and Nona Prince for a variety of reasons ranging from the emotion quotient, degree of excitement and knowledge about movies.

The reaction videos sub-genre has become so mainstream over the past few years that they have attracted brand collaborations. While Mughal says that his channel has stayed away from collaborations to keep the reactions honest and not be swayed by a brand’s requirements, Singh tells us about two types of collaborations. The first, an integrated one with brands like TopCashback and Rosebud app where he has interspersed a reaction video with 10-12 seconds of promotion, while others like one for the web series The Empire, where he was asked to provide a positive review. Netflix India also has reaction segments like Behensplaining, conceptualised because there were no reflection shows in either mainstream media or on YouTube that discussed entertainment through the female gaze. The series has been running for about two years now, with 69 episodes on YouTube, with a loyal and growing audience as well as spin-off content on the Netflix India Instagram page. There is also the Tanmay Reacts series which has been running since 2020.

Pallav Soni, who has worked for such brands says that every reaction channel has its own audience, so if the YouTuber recommends a show, the audiences will watch it, citing the example of the show Mirzapur, where opinions from reaction channels led to the emergence of memes on Instagram and the show’s ultimate success. “The recommendation skills [of the YouTuber] are what help to create initial engagement with a show,” effective channels therefore, helping to boost numbers.

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