Hyderabad brothers embrace storytelling via YouTube

Over two lakh students also tune into the duo to listen to them give gyan on a variety of topics that concern them.
Krishna Chaitanya Reddy (L) and Vamsi Krishna Reddy. (Photo| EPS)
Krishna Chaitanya Reddy (L) and Vamsi Krishna Reddy. (Photo| EPS)

HYDERABAD: Every youngster giving competitive examinations in the city knows them. Long after their coaching classes end, over two lakh students also tune into the duo – Krishna Chaitanya Reddy and Vamsi Krishna Reddy – to listen to them give gyan on a variety of topics that concern them.

"We started our story channel in April 22, 2019 on dad’s birthday and we now have over two lakh subscribers. We just put up our 50th story and that’s definitely something we want to celebrate," says Chaitanya, the elder sibling.

So what exactly happens in these ‘stories’ on ‘Telugu Stories Create U’ on YouTube? "The videos are shot professsionally. But the content comes from a personal level. Direct dil kelli ostadi. Adi highlight," says Chaitanya in chaste Telangana dialect. The videos are usually between eight to 15 minutes and the language is informal. We get a lot of response on social media and directly from students who we interact with daily and that forms the subjects of our videos," adds Vamsi.

The Reddy brothers teach aptitude for about six hours, six days a week in the city. And for the last one year, they have been working over 240 days a month a year. "The rest of the time is invested in understanding what their problems are and addressing them in a friendly neighbourhood anna/dosth fashion. The fact that our concerns and dreams are aligned with that of the youngsters of the day, we manage to get their atention. We hail from Zaheerabad, but we are settled in Hyderabad. But we still think like small town kids. We used to be nervous talking to people in English. That’s something most  students from the small towns face. So narrating our experiences in a unrehearsed, free-flowing manner clicks with the students," they say.

Chaitanya is a big hit with Gen X after his TedX and Josh Talks video went viral, garnering over four lakh views. "We narrating love stories from our own lives or that of our friends'. We tell the youngsters that even after a heartbreak you can pick yourself up to move forward. We  help them understand that being ridiculed for poor sense of dressing or for speaking bad English are challenges we all must face to get ahead. This helps us connect with them well," Vamsi adds.

Interestingly, a video 20-minute video, story #9 titled Ammayilu Ekkuva baadpadtara? Abbayila’ is among their most viewed videos, the other being Aim lekunte em kaadha? On an average, the duo get over 100 emails and messages in a day. "We take time out to answer most of them and when we get the same kind of queries, we turn into a story," they say.

The Meerpet Reddy boys say they spend about two days a week shooting for their episodes and the other days to finalise topics. These days, they are busy giving talks, the most recent one was at Chanchalguda jail last week.

Their big plan for 2020 is to start an app or a channel which can address a variety of problems (aptitude and attitude). "Initially, we plan to keep it in a subscription model, but we are open to giving it free to students who cannot afford. At the end of the day, it is about being able to guide and embrace Gen X. Adey highlight kavali maa life lo," Chaitanya concludes, using his famous line from his videos. 

Siblings Krishna Chaitanya Reddy and Vamsi Krishna Reddy, two in-demand aptitude trainers from Hyderabad, ditch the regular preachy way to address youngsters between ages 18-24 years via ‘stories’, that too in authentic Telangana dialect.

The 15-minute stories range from ‘English Rakunte Em Avutadi’ to ‘Life Lo Asailu Kick Eppudostadi. They just put up their 50th story this week and with two lakh subscribers to their YouTube Channel, the say they love what they are doing.

The writer can be contacted at kalanidhi@newindianexpress.com

Twitter: @mkalanidhi

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