She is bubbly, she is honest, and she always knows how to make you smile! When we say this line, the first persona that pops in our mind is no one other than Albeli Ritu!
As a part of our NRI interview series, we speak to the very optimistic and kind Vlogger – Ritu Tiwari, an Indian abroad who has been Vlogging from New York (initially) and (now) London.
Read on to know more about her inspiring yet fun journey!
Tell us a little about your husband and your background. You originally hail from which place and what is your age?
I have done master’s in mass communication and originally hail from Uttarakhand, but we kept moving from one place to another as my father had a transferable job. Every five years I had to change my school and then I did my graduation and post-graduation. I joined the television industry with News X for 7-8 months and moved to Times Now and eventually to Republic and then got married and moved to the US and started my vlog. After coming to the US, I joined as an RJ with Radio Mirchi for some time.
Tell us about your different roles as a Youtuber, Blogger and Content Creator. When did you start this creative journey?
I started in August of 2019. I create content for the Indian lifestyle in the US and UK. How I live here, things to do in New York and London, which I am doing now. The basic things are how we celebrate festivals like Holi and Diwali, things to bring in the UK, like if someone wants to come abroad etc. I do make reels on Instagram, but a majority of the work is on YouTube.
What’s the story behind the name ‘Albeli Ritu’?
Albeli Ritu is more like the personality I am. I am free, I don’t hold judgments or grudges, I do whatever I like. I am a little mast maula in my approach and I don’t take life too seriously. I don’t think too much before doing anything, nor think about the future and whatever makes me happy I do that. So that’s Albeli Ritu.
Do you think Vlogging abroad attracts more viewers and why? How is Vlogging abroad different from Vlogging in India?
I am not sure about that and I don’t think it is like that. There are people in India who are doing really good, like Saurav Joshi Vlogs and Flying Beast. For me, it is more about the personality and I don’t think my viewers will change if I move to any place, even if it is India. Here it is more of a personality-based thing. It is not about what or how I am doing it, but it’s all about the person I am, and I think people connect to that. You have to be really original, and you should showcase whatever you are. The camera always captures the real emotion so you cannot lie to the camera. If you show whatever you are, that will help you in the long run. You cannot fake your personality and people are smart and understand it better. It is always good to be original and say anything and everything you like. I have cried in front of my camera. I have loved in front of my camera. I have told about my problems, things I don’t like, my real emotions, and I think I share my life with people and I am an open book. The plan is to reach a little higher in terms of numbers but as of now, I am happy with whatever is happening.
Tell us about your struggles in Vlogging as it must have taken time to get subscribers.
I started off two and a half years ago and initially, it was different and difficult. Every day I used to feel what was happening because it’s not a 9 to 5 job where you go to work and you get money. Initially, you have to buy a camera, you have to get a tripod and I am not someone who wants to spend too much money on the equipment but eventually, you have to buy it if you want to improve on the quality of the content. There was a challenge to go to New York, because of course the money was involved. I was in Stanford at that point of time so I used to travel an hour on the train, make a vlog for 5-6 hours, come back home, edit that vlog and I used to make like 10 dollars a video. You get discouraged because the kind of effort you put in, the kind of time you put in and the kind of money you have to make it is huge and so is the risk. When I came here I saw my colleagues getting promoted in my past companies, I was like what am I doing with my life. Is it working or not? But by Gods’ grace, it is growing. I haven’t reached where I wanted to be but I am glad that I did it and I really feel it’s a blessing for me that I gotta do what I always wanted to do. Being an RJ, talking to people, having their blessings like when I moved to London a lot of people messaged me giving their numbers, suggestions, things to do, looking for an apartment and I love that kind of warmth. This brings me happiness.
You have a huge fanbase in India. Do you consider them to be your target audience? How do you seek inspiration for your videos? What is your primary intent while curating the same?
The primary intent is to follow the dream I guess like when I was small, I used to do this RJing bit. You remember there was this movie called Munna Bhai MBBS? I used to copy what the RJ used to say. I don’t know who you are but you watch my content. That is such a lovely and empowering feeling and every time I do it I must say one has to have a passion to do it. Like you cannot do it for money, you cannot do it for fame. You just can’t do it and it will tear you apart. You have to have that patience and passion to do it.
Where do you see yourself five years from now?
I see myself engaging more with the audience and doing a little bit more in terms of cinematic videos as I think I have to improve that and make better thumbnails. Vlogging is something I think I will never hire an editor because it is storytelling. It is my story, whatever I do, I want to edit myself but some technicalities can be improved and reach to more and more people and make their lives a little bit brighter. I am overjoyed with the fact that if my videos can bring a smile to someone’s face I want to make them happier. I want to make my parents proud of anything and they are really proud of me. Someone recognised my dad after he went back to Delhi from the US. I want to make my husband, both set of parents, friends and subscribers proud of me because they have supported me a lot.
You can visit Ritu’s YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/AlbeliRitu
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