When struggles and hardships are endured at the beginning of a person’s journey which later becomes a story of success, it turns out to be worth giving a listening ear. When an opportunity was presented to hear one such story I grabbed it instantly. Success stories always enliven and motivate me to embark on a new path towards achieving my set goals.
On a rainy August evening with a cup of chai for company, I sat down to hear the story of Umesh Saini, a once in-demand TikTok-er who garnered a following of 3.5 million. Despite such an enormous following he has managed to keep himself grounded and hasn’t forgotten his roots. He started with being a gymnast in school, having to be a part of ample singing and dancing shows as he always envisioned himself being in the movies someday. Unfair opportunities to showcase his talent of gymnastics made him want to slide back.
He then chose to channelize his efforts and drifted towards dance. He recalls dancing to Dard-e-Disco and Nagada Baja, culminating a dream of being on TV which he relentlessly worked towards. Coming from an economically humble background with his mother struggling to make ends meet working as a tailor, pursuing his newfound passion for dance was quite a challenge in itself. However, perseverance and dedication did its magic and he was awarded a scholarship at “Dance Dance Academy” in Haryana.
His parents would always advise him to take up a government job to ensure the security of his future, so when Umesh cleared his audition of the country’s much-watched Talent show “India’s Got Talent” in 2018, he waited till the last moment before moving to Mumbai to inform them. There was no looking back, then. His dance group, “Floor Breakers” performed exceedingly well and danced with vigour and passion. Having met trending Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Anushka Sharma were the moments he recounts being the happiest.After the show, his parents proudly welcomed him to the city with posters and garlands and love.
Umesh performed with the “Floor Breakers” pan India, but he vividly remembers his visit to Ahmedabad that brought back his desire to create a unique identity for himself.
With a newfound purpose, he started creating content based on a blend of dance and acrobatics which got him viral in no time. Umesh recalls winning the TikTok 1 million challenge, and eventually garnering ample love from his audience. He then collaborated with a fellow TikTok-er Shivani who hails from Surat and together they started creating videos. The reel Tik-Tok couple seems quite a fit with their content spanning from typically humorous couple issues to synced dance moves to Umesh portraying the tragic broken-hearted hero. Their collaboration and content were well-received, hitting over a million likes, and they climbed the ladder to success together.
The TikTok ban was a hard-hitting moment for the two creators. Umesh remembers consoling himself with a philosophy many of us should follow, “chalti ka naam zindagi”.Having struggled and rising back up is what Umesh prides himself in, that’s what he did this time as well. Shivani and Umesh went on to plan a YouTube channel and began prepping up for it just the very next day. Owing to this promptness and their backbreaking efforts, they now run a successful channel with over 27k subscribers. They took a step forward and built a Social Media academy, YOU2 Academy. They aim to put their video-making experience to good use with their academy providing insight into content creation, scriptwriting, social media skills, algorithm, video production to name a few.
Umesh strives to create a better version of himself each day by honing his talents and bettering his acting skills, particularly as he believes his ultimate destination is Bollywood, something he dreamt of as a child. He put forth his desire to make his mother quit working as a tailor and give his parents a life they deserve.
He parts with dropping words of wisdom to aspiring influencers to work towards sharpening their skills and putting in hard work, success will be more rewarding.
