Filmmaker Nikhil Kapoor talks about the dark side of being a social media influencer in his new short film, Clickbait. The film won an award at the International Tagore Film Festival.
How far are you willing to go for social media fame? With this question at its core, the short film Clickbait directed by Nikhil Kapoor introduces us to the life of an aspiring influencer who gets fixated with the idea of securing a million views for his next video. With the influencer economy taking the center stage of the marketing world, the film makes us pause and reflect on the challenges faced by aspiring influencers and their obsession for virtual fame.
The film revolves around Pro-Hit or Purohit, a 27-year-old wannabe vlogger with a Hip-Hop themed channel on MeTube. He lives in New Delhi with his ailing father Ramakant who gets more and more frustrated with his son talking to a camera.
Pro-Hit has high hopes for views as he unboxes a newly received package on his channel but nothing goes according to plan. With every passing minute, the line between Pro-Hit's real and virtual life gets blurred. His relationships are pushed out of focus as he views his life through a camera lens and tumbles down the deep dark rabbit hole in his quest for views.
Watch the video here:
Awarded the Outstanding Achievement in the short film category at the Tagore International Film Festival in 2021, the film attempts to reveal the dark side of aspiring social media influencers and how far they are willing to go in a highly competitive industry vying for likes and views.
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