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#KetchupTalks: Mayuresh Gujar on finding his paap punya ka hisab while completing a 100-day challenge!

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Smrithi Mohan
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Mayuresh Gujar

“The 100-day challenge happened quite later on, which I believe was God’s plan," says Mayuresh Gujar as he talks about being consistent and using his platform for the better.

The internet is a funny place; you're either sharing the most joyous moment of your life or leaving a ‘relate max’ comment on someone's post about how tough life is. It can either inspire or make you question the reason for your existence, which is also why we keep going back to it. With content creators becoming a major part of what we consume online, it is only natural for us to find something that connects us to them. Mumbai-based musician, athlete, and comedy creator, Mayuresh Gujar is an example of how content creation can transcend entertainment if one decides to look at its possibilities. By taking up philanthropy as a 100-day challenge that helps people along the way, Mayuresh became an example of how content creation can be a powerful avenue for positive change, especially when we are open to broadening our perspectives.

Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring famously said, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” This quote perfectly encapsulates Mayuresh's decision to take up a 100-day-long challenge before welcoming a new year. You might have stumbled across his profile not for his humourous, relatable content but because of the 100-day challenge. He was able to tap into a whole new niche by taking on a challenge to spend the last 100 days of 2024, helping out the needy with plans to continue this effort even after the challenge ends. 

While he now has an impressive following of  315K followers, content creation was not always part of his plan. Once aspiring to be a cricketer, he found his creative flair during the lockdown. “When we started having more online lectures, I uploaded my first comedy video and it worked well that time. That’s when I decided to post more comedy content along with my music videos. For nearly three to five years, I consistently posted comedy content.” It was during this time, enjoying all the love people shared for his little gimmicks and skits that he decided to try something new before biding adieu to 2024. “The 100-day challenge happened quite later on, which I believe was God’s plan. I had never planned to shift my content to and discover a new niche; this transition away from both comedy and music was completely unplanned. In fact, it was a random move that ended up working well for me.”

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Considering how successful the challenge was, here's what he had to share with us!

From just sharing content that is intended to entertain to completing a 100-day challenge helping strangers, how has your content journey been?

“Firstly, I want to share that I began my journey by creating music videos, not comedy. That’s the reason behind the name "Mayurvic," which combines "Mayuresh" and "music" into "MayurVic." The comedy aspect came later. I started with singing and playing the guitar, skills I learned during the lockdown. Later when we started having more online lectures, I uploaded my first comedy video and it worked well that time. That’s when I decided to post more comedy content along with my music videos. For nearly three to five years, I consistently posted comedy content. The 100-day challenge happened quite later on, which I believe was God’s plan. I had never planned to shift my content to and discover a new niche; this transition away from both comedy and music was completely unplanned. In fact, it was a random move that ended up working well for me. 

Tell us about your 100-day challenge. How did it happen and why did you decide to call it 'Paap Punya ka Hisaab'?

When there were 100 days left in the year, one of my friends suggested that I take on a 100-day challenge related to something I was passionate about. He proposed that I create a mini vlog series, but I was unsure if I could pull it off for 100 days and be consistent with the challenge. At that moment, I was inspired by the idea of giving back to society before the year ended. I thought about how I could atone for my past mistakes by doing good deeds, which led to the concept of "Paap Punya ka Hisaab." We only decided to launch this idea the day before posting our first video, so there wasn’t a lengthy planning process—we just knew that the challenge would start the next day and that we would call it "Paap Punya ka Hisaab." The only specific decision we made was that the challenge would take the form of mini vlogs and that I would end each video with the tagline, “Me jo punya aaj kar raha hu, aap vo kal kijiye.” This became a recurring phrase in many of my earlier videos, although I eventually stopped using it. People seemed to appreciate this unique aspect of my content, which I believe captured their attention.

How did you decide on sharing the video style later on?

I initially wanted to see how things would go because I had no idea how it would turn out. Toh phele ki 15 din jo me edit kar raha tha, that was not working. I used to love the videos, and my followers seemed to enjoy them too, but the reach was consistently low for the first 20 videos. When I realized that almost a month had passed with no improvement, I decided to change my execution style and explore what else might work for my page. That's when I decided to add a hook to the videos. Jo logo se me mil raha tha, I started highlighting interesting snippets from my conversations with them, and that worked with my audience. Par jab vo audience build hogayi thi, toh usske bad vo hook ki bhi zarurat nahi thi. 

After that mujhe samjme aa raha tha ki, since people were enjoying this series, some viewers wanted to contribute through donations. This was an unexpected but wonderful outcome. It felt like everything was falling into place, and I believe that editing played a significant role in achieving this level of reach for the series.

What about this journey has become memorable for you?

The one thing that I loved about being part of this was that I was able to create good relationships with many of them. I found an aaji, a mother, a brother. I came back from Uttarakhand and the first call I received was from Lata aai, jinke mere sab vegetables kharide the. And it was her who called me ki ‘Bala tu aalas ka parat?’ after I had mentioned it to her, she remembered the date when I came back and took the time to call me. So, these are the little bonds that I have created not just for the content but for the rest of my life.

Sharing and posting videos of people helping others is always met with backlash on social media. Did you face any of those during your challenge?

I believe that the comments section has been entirely positive throughout this journey, and there hasn't been any backlash. Initially, I thought that the people who shared their experiences received comments like ‘kya dikhana hai’, or ‘acha kar rahe ho toh acha karo’. However, even if such comments existed, I didn’t notice them. To be honest, I didn't have the time to focus on anything negative; I was only looking at the positive feedback.

Since you have successfully completed the challenge, what do you want people to take away from this?

What I feel is that people are already inspired by this challenge. Many have started their own version of the 'Paap Punya ka Hisab' challenge, and a lot of them are doing good deeds and tagging me in their posts. If you look at my tags, you’ll see that many of my followers are already participating. I have met about six or seven followers who initiated this themselves. Even my own team members are planning to engage in something similar to what I've done. After returning from my trip to Uttarakhand, we met, and they informed me that we could collaborate on a larger scale while they continued the same efforts I did during these 100 days. Overall, I only see positive outcomes from this. 

After day 28, when one of my videos went viral, I noticed an increase in messages and donations. The fact that I never asked for anything and still received donations was fascinating. However, after day 28, seeing how hard that lady in the video worked, people were urging me to accept donations. I called a meeting with my small team to discuss our options. That night, I accepted donations and managed to collect around INR 35,000, which allowed me to give her gifts for Diwali. Now, I realize that if donations hadn't been part of this journey, 'Paap Punya ka Hisab' wouldn't have been as successful. It also reflects the trust my followers placed in me when it came to handling their contributions. I was truly emotional witnessing their willingness to give back to the country, especially at a time when scams are so prevalent. It was incredible to see their generosity.

Do you plan on continuing on something similar to 'Paap Punya ka Hisaab' or will we get to see comedy content?

I believe my followers want me to continue this series, and I have been discussing it with my team and friends to explore our options. As of now, nothing concrete has been planned regarding whether we should create more comedy videos or continue the current series. However, one thing is certain: I intend to expand it on a larger scale and truly make a significant impact.

Finally, how do you think content creators can give back to society?

I feel, as creators, we have a bigger role to play in life because people are following us for a reason. They don’t just want to get entertained but also for the kind of content you post. The creators, especially the budding creators should make sure that they know what they want to promote. Again in terms of growth, they need to be more consistent which doesn’t mean to post regularly but to be consistent. Be true to your audience, don’t copy content, and have more original content.

Mayuresh was also part of our SK Creator's Roundtable 2024 and you can check out his entire conversation on our YouTube channel.

For more entertainment, follow us on @socialketchup

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