Will Fans Make Pushpa 2: The Rule A Success?

‘Fan
armies
are
not
just
followers;
they
are
a
force
of
nature.’

Sukumar’s

Pushpa
2:
The
Rule,
the
sequel
to
the
2021
hit

Pushpa:
The
Rise,
is
one
of
the
most
awaited
movies
of
2024
and
is
due
for
release
on
December
6.

Earlier
this
year,
Mythri
Movie
Makers
released
a
teaser
that
was
viewed
over
100
million
times
on
YouTube
as
was
the
title
music
video
on
T-Series’
channels
on
the
same
platform.
Fans
also
started
creating
reaction
videos,
trailer
breakdowns,
memes,
dance
trends
and
even
VFX
(visual
effects)
edits,
literally
embedding
themselves
into
the
movie
frames.

“Fan
armies
are
not
just
followers;
they
are
a
force
of
nature.
They
are
not
just
consuming
content
but
creating
it;
fan
culture
is
now
a
driver
of
popular
culture,”
says
Ishan
John
Chatterjee,
managing
director,
YouTube
India.

As
the
boundaries
between
creators
and
fans
dissolve
online,
fan
armies
are
key
to
amplifying,
creating
and
even
monetising
content.
That
essentially
is
the
crux
of
a
small
discussion
the
world’s
(and
India’s)
largest
streaming
app
had
recently,
before
the
tenth

YouTube
Fanfest
began.

The
Fanfest,
which
had
over
5,000
people
in
attendance
last
year,
is
now
part
of
the
popular
culture
ecosystem
that

YouTube
creators
such
as
Shivani
Kapila
(Little
Glove,
16
million
subscribers)
or
Mahesh
Keshwala
(Thugesh,
5.78
million
subscribers)
dominate.

To
mark
it,
YouTube
also
released
a
Culture
and
Trends
report
in
partnership
with
research
firm
SmithGeiger
showcasing
the
evolution
of
fandom.

However,
it
is
important
to
contextualise
the
report
first.
In
June
2024,
YouTube
had
462
million
unique
visitors,
according
to
Comscore
data.
That
is
over
88
per
cent
of
all
people
using
the
internet
for
news,
entertainment
or
information.

While
the
report
is
based
on
small
sample
sizes
(between
300
to
400
per
question),
if
one
projects
it
onto
YouTube’s
reach,
the
implications
are
larger.

Going
by
the
research,
in
India,
91
per
cent
of
Gen
Z
fans
(online
14
to
24
year
olds
who
identify
as
fans)
have
engaged
in
fan-related
activities
in
the
past
12
months.
YouTube
India
declines
to
share
what
proportion
of
its
reach
is
Gen
Z
but
“it
is
core
to
our
audience,”
says
Chatterjee.

The
ability
to
make
short
videos
easily
and
generative
AI
(artificial
intelligence)
have
given
fans
more
and
increasingly
creative
ways
to
participate
in
their
fandoms.
That
participation,
with
its
varying
degrees
of
commitment
and
engagement,
has
led
to
a
stratification
of
sorts,
says
the
research.

Casual
fans
may
just
consume
media,
but
super
fans
routinely
create
media
about
the
object
of
their
fandom,
and
often
spend
money
on
it.
In
short,
the
bigger
the
fan,
the
more
content
they
are
likely
to
consume
and
create.

More
than
80
per
cent
of
them
are
alright
with
brands
being
engaged
with
people
or
channels
they
are
fans
of.
And
a
similar
number
identify
themselves
as
creators.
More
than
two-third
of
Gen
Z
admit
to
being
fans
of
a
person
or
niche
that
no
one
they
know
is
part
of.

Chatterjee
points
out
to
the
little
islands
of
content
that
popular
creators,
say
UPSC
teachers
like
Vikas
Divyakirti
(3.75
million
subscribers)
and
Vijender
Maseejeevi
(522,000
subscribers)
and
their
fans
create.
There
is
a
whole
creator
and
fan
ecosystem
around
railways,
railway
carriages
and
trains.

“We
are
not
just
witnessing
the
rise
of
fandom
but
helping
fuel
it
by
simplifying
creation
and
helping
unlock
monetisation
through
special
chats
or
engagement
with
super
fans,”
says
Chatterjee.

How
does
YouTube
deal
with
the
toxicity
that
is
very
real
on
other
platforms?

“YouTube
is
the
only
platform
where
I
haven’t
faced
any
hate
or
toxic
comments,”
says
Kapila.

She
blogs
about
life
in
a
joint
family.
Keshwala,
who
does
a
popular
online
talk
show,
and
Naman
Mathur,
who
does
live
streaming
gaming
videos
under
the
name
MortaL
(7
million
subscribers),
agree.

Chatterjee
says
that
YouTube
invests
a
lot
in
technology
to
ensure
that
toxicity
remains
off
the
platform.
The
next
step
is
to
build
an
AI-powered
dubbing
tool
that
can
help
creators
go
global.

According
to
estimates,
YouTube
India
had
gross
ad
revenues
of
Rs
14,000
crore
(Rs
140
billion)
in
the
financial
year
2023.
Roughly
half
of
that
goes
to
creators.
It
is
certainly
a
constituency
to
keep
investing
in.