Interview: Dolly Singh on her journey from a shy girl to social media star: It feels unbelievable

When it comes to social media influencers, Dolly Singh is one of the few names that comes to mind instantly. The 29-year-old social media blogger has come a long way, from her journey as a fashion blogger with "Spill the Sass" blog to working as a junior writer. She eventually started creating videos and became the internet's favourite through her short skits. Over the years, Dolly has expanded her horizons and explored more; now she is not only a content creator but also a fashion influencer, entrepreneur, and actor.

In an interview with WION, Dolly talked about her journey, her movie Thank You For Coming, shared her thoughts on the film, content creation, acting and more.Read excerpts.

Q: From a shy small-town girl to becoming the poster girl of a film, how does it feel?

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Dolly: It feels very nice and amazing—a dream come true. So that feeling in itself is quite big and overwhelming. But it’s something that you wanted, so I've been quite happy in the last few days. The film has been released; it has been loved. I’m receiving so many messages these days and everything. So I’ve been on top of this world.

Q: In recent times, we have seen a rise in women-driven content. And especially, movies addressing women's pleasure and orgasm and the audience is also kind of getting comfortable watching movies on these topics? What are your views on this?

Dolly: We’re heading in a good direction. As a woman, I think we all love to watch that kind of content. It is always good to see women-oriented content that talks about women's stories, women who have written them, or something like that. So, I think those kinds of stories are really for us. It's like something we seek out all the time. Right now, it's like we’re done with all the action films, done with the rom-com; we just need a girl story that the girls can relate to. So, I think I love watching such films. One of my favourite films is Lipstick Under My Burkha. What a fabulous film and what a gutsy film to make, and I think we just want to watch more of such content. So, I’m happy that such content is being made. And it needs to happen to a point, where you don’t keep calling it women-oriented or this or that. I think anytime it gets made, it will get stacked. So that tag at one point should just lose itself, and it should onlybe a film - that can be about a man, a woman, many men, many women, or too many people, like whatever, it should just be a film. So, I’m hoping that we reach that level, although it’s very hard to say when it will happen with the kind of trolls we also see around. So, it will take time, and I’m hoping that I live to see it.

Q: I have been watching your content for a very long time. And it's a type of content that you quickly relate to. How did you manage to bring that in?

Dolly: Feminism has come to me very late in life. I think it’s the same case with most of the girls out there. In the late 20s, we realise, Oh my god, women have gone through so much, and we are fighting for this and this and this, and you realise the deeper layers of everything, how patriarchy affects you so deeply, like your childhood, your adulthood, everything that triggers, and your traumas. So when I started making content, which was around the same time,in my early 20s. I always generally make content around the thoughts that I'm having at that time, even sketches, even if it's not me but a character. I like to talk about what I’m going through, so I think women's issues and, in general, anything related to women, whether it’s funny, whether you know it's stupid, or whether it’s something deep, I really like to talk about it. I always feel like my video should have some kind of message, something that people take home or think about. So I always try to do that kind of content, which I really feel for.

Q: If not content creator, then what would Dolly Singh be doing right now?

Dolly: So, I told UPSC to my parents when I was young. Because I always wanted to take arts, and they (parents) would be like, Why have you taken arts? So for them, the only good reason for taking arts would be UPSC. So I just lied to them; I never wanted to, obviously. But I did my political science graduation, and then I went to the Masters in Fashion Management at NIFT. So, either I would have gone to styling full time or I would have gone into writing full time. I think it could have been writing because, over time, I feel like I would have enjoyed writing more, so I would have maybe gone into some form of writing, and who knows, from there I could have reached films. Sometimes, it has to happen, so it will happen in different ways, but I think I would like to believe that coming to films was my destiny.

Q: Who is the actor you dream of sharing the screen with?

Dolly: Oh wow, of course, I think Shah Rukh Khan, sharing screen space with him would be wonderful.

Q: When you started, did you have any idea that you'd make it this big?

Dolly: It definitely feels unbelievable. I don’t think I would have ever thought that. I think that’s why, I’m in that zone because I've always been very full of myself in my work, and I generally hate everything I do. But it’s the first time I'm trying to realise that it might not be as big as you want it to be, and of course, every time you do something, you feel like it can be better and it can be this and that. But I think we always forget to give ourselves credit for whatever it is that we have managed to achieve. So I think in these last few months I have been in a phase where I’m very proud of whatever I’ve done, and it might not be like, Oh my godamazing, because a lot of people are doing so much and making a life out of nothing. So I think, of course, comparison vice, I might not have done too much, but I think for my personal standard, the kind of trajectory that I have given to my career. For me personally, those are very big milestones. I’m earning my own money and giving it out to my parents, so for me, those things matter a lot, and I’m feeling great about them.