(April 7, 2024) His LinkedIn profile says none in the experience segment; but Zervaan Bunshah holds a degree from the University of Edinburgh. He has also cleared the eighth grade of music and drama with the Trinity College, London. An accomplished actor and singer, he is best known for his hilarious reels on Instagram. With over 133,000 followers and counting, acting in plays at Mumbai’s Tata Theatre and making people laugh, Zervaan is currently one of the genuinely funny guys on social media. His reel on Parle G biscuits became so popular that the company responded by putting his photo on the package as a joke. And his Instagram rant against Lays when they changed the taste of the Magic Masala flavour generated such a response that the company was compelled to take back the new entrant and revert to the original.
Zervaan Bunshah (Photo Credit: Zubin N Mehta)
Colourfully Parsi
He parodies everyone – from the stereotypical South Mumbai snobs to the affected North Mumbai aunties; the youth of suburban Bandra, as well as his politically incorrect 96-year-old grandmother who appears in a few reels too. He also pokes fun at the community he hails from – the Parsis. Complete with the accented English, Hindi, Marathi and the colourful language [toned down online, but on full display during the interview]; even non-Parsis find his reels hilarious.
In an exclusive with Global Indian, Zervaan reveals that he’s had this wicked sense of humour since he was a child. “I have this innate ability to fool people,” he says, then adds, “I am kidding. But seriously, I was always an attention seeker; I loved attention. My parents suggested I put this ADHD and the need to be in the limelight to a more creative and productive use. I used to do theatre in school [Bombay Scottish]; it was also my way to not attend classes as I found studies mundane and boring. When someone asks me whether I miss my childhood, I say, absolutely not. I had no autonomy, no money of my own and exam stress. When people say they miss their childhood, I tell them ‘What a sad life you lead – you peaked in school’!”
Zervaan experimented with several career options before finding his groove. “I tried medicine and quit, [his father is an orthopaedic surgeon]; then I got a degree in Business Marketing and International Relations from the UK. I worked with the Tata Trust in their CSR wing; but I wanted to do something different. I gave the Trinity College exam for the eighth grade [grade 1-7 is for children]. I passed the exam and I also learnt singing during the lockdown.”
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Zervaan adds that his sister Delraaz is the musical genius in the family. “She can see music literally, and can read it well. She is a music freak and a far superior singer than I am. Plus, you can’t compare us because our genders are different. Our parents dumped the bad genetics on me and during the gene splicing, she got the good ones.” Though the reels of them singing together reveal he is not half as bad himself.
Having said that, Zervaan says the popularity of his reels is a team effort. He insists the wittier reels have been scripted by his girlfriend who he only refers to as ‘Dr Germany’. “All the well-scripted, intelligent reels are definitely not me – they have been written by her. The gela ganda [the Parsi phrase for rubbish/below average] ones which are smutty and political are all me,” he says. When asked about her identity and that of the mysterious Rupali, who is present in the background and whom he addresses, Zervaan says he will reveal their identities when he achieves his target of one million followers. “I can’t expect to reach that number with just the members of my community. We peaked at 40,000.”
Yeh Hai Bombay Meri Jaan
His characters have their own fan following and each one is starkly different from the other. Zervaan plays all of them and is completely unself-conscious while doing so. The NoBo [North Bombay] aunty will typically sport a big black bindi, wear a permanently worried expression, a crinkled dupatta and talk about art, theatre etc. The Bandra girl wears a ring on the septum of her nose and vents about her issues, psychotherapy sessions and depression. The snooty South Bombay guy speaks nasally and in a condescending tone. “I actually know someone who speaks just like that,” reveals Zervaan.
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The most popular though has to be his 96-year-old grandma who he says is even more politically incorrect in real life, much to his embarrassment. “She has a separate fan base and she always says what she likes; it is dangerous to let her speak in public.”
Even though his reels are very Mumbai-centric and hardcore Mumbaikars can relate to the broken Marathi spoken to cops at traffic lights or the affectations and lifestyle satires of South Mumbai’s rich and famous, there is still a universal element that connects with everyone. He admits his content is niche but people connect because of the humour. He says, “Mumbai is like New York, it has its own charm, whether you love it or hate it. The Hinglish, the characters…. You can get subjective and stagnant if you are not innovating all the time. There is not a lot of niche humour in a broad spectrum on social media and mine sounds like fun to a lot of people.”
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Politically Incorrect
He is now a well-known face in Mumbai circles though. His reel on Parle-G biscuits went viral. Zervaan shares how that happened. “Did you know they give you Parle-G biscuits after you donate blood? I made a random video wondering how the owner of these biscuits would like to be addressed when he met him – Mr Parle, Parle Sir, or Parle ji. The company responded with an answer and put my picture on the package as a joke.”
The other one where he rants against the Lays brand because they changed the flavour of the Magic Masala potato chips, generated such a reaction online that the company was forced to take back the new entrant, claiming it was an experiment and bring back the original flavour. “How can someone screw up a popular flavour like that? I did a reel screaming and ranting against Lays, and it went viral on the internet. When the company got in touch with me, I let them know they had made a mistake by changing the flavour.”
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While he is thrilled with the response to these two reels, the one that is close to his heart, a paid promotion, is the one he did for the Tiago car, from the Tata Motors range. “I named the car Jenny in the reel and I was quite touched that the company I once worked for reached out to me for a promotion. The reel denotes the love Parsis have for their cars.”
On a personal level though, Zervaan admits he loves the attention and fan following, but gets emotional and doesn’t know how to accept compliments. “I was recognised by a Gujju couple when I was holidaying in Lake Como. But I am uncomfortable with compliments. I usually make a snarky comment when someone compliments me.”
According to this funny guy, who channels shades of Jim Carrey at times, what are the secrets to creating original and witty content? He says, “You should push the envelope and not be scared to do suggestive or bold work, when it comes to paid content. We are not in the sixties anymore. As for creating content to stay relevant, you have to keep evolving. Observe, shut up and look around. Listen and see what is happening instead of voicing your opinion. If people are taking time out of their busy lives to see you, be happy and don’t complain.”
- Follow Zervaan Bunshah on Instagram
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