Entertaining his way through life: Meme Making, Acting, and Writing with Vishal Anvekar

This man from Karnataka is a bundle of Entertainment. A naughty kid in his childhood, he’d always be found playing pranks on people. He had a small fan base amongst his friends who would always be persuading him to sing, and he’d happily oblige them. He’d also use his imitation skills to entertain his peers, so it’s only natural that he went on to entertain the masses in his Meme-worthy manner while showcasing his acting chops in various sketches and videos on social media. 

During his graduation days, he participated in a short filmmaking competition. Although it was the prize money that attracted him initially, he tried to give it his all to the project which he was directing. Being gravely disappointed with the initial product, he decided to borrow a professional camera from a friend and reshoot the entire film. The film received much appreciation from the audience, leaving him satisfied.

This former IT professional confesses that he was always fascinated by the things that take place behind the camera. He’s wanted to Act, Write and make movies for as long as he could remember. In college, he started making and curating memes by clicking pictures of his teachers and creating content. What motivated him was the validation he’d receive from his peers. So gradually, he started a meme page on Facebook. However, he had ulterior motives regarding this. Although he wanted to direct short films, the recurring obstacle was the lack of funding. Vishal believed if his page gets enough traction, it might open up more avenues of funding.

Extremely disappointed with the low engagement he was getting, he decided to message the team of NKM(Namma Karnataka Memes), a popular Memes and entertainment platform on Facebook, asking if he could work with them. Soon after, he started making Memes for them over the weekends while balancing a full-time job in IT—Fun Fact: He also made a troll page of the same organization that he was working for back in the day.

This Meme creator heavily believes that to create content that connects with the audience and strikes a chord, it’s essential to understand their pulse. He would practice the same while making memes for NKM. He went on to act in many comedy sketches and videos and write and direct them.

When asked about the story behind the name of his Instagram handle, @clean_kishnappa, he smiles and says, “In parts of Karnataka, when a Man goes clean shave, he’s called Clean Krishnappa. I thought it’d be a short, catchy, and unique name for my profile.”

In 2018, Vishal started marketing for films. He collaborated with some directors and ended up enjoying the process and the nature of work. Through his connections, he even got offered small parts in movies and subsequently went on to act in them. He’s starred in Kannada movies like Bazaar and Ratnamanjari. His family only got to know about the same once the movies were released.

In 2019, he quit his job in IT and started working on some scripts with his close peers. During the lockdown, he actively began posting memes on Instagram and made his handle formerly private and public. He’s been receiving a lot of love from his followers. Many of his posts have even gone viral. He receives numerous messages every day, thanking him for entertaining them, which means the world to this multi-talented Content Creator. Before the pandemic, he was working on a feature film with his friend. Since the lockdown happened, he’s been working on scripts with his Writer and Filmmaker buddies.He highly endorses the idea that Entertainment is foremost, and it’s always about what the audience wants. “Also, don’t do it for the money,” says Vishal adamantly.