Why Rakhi Sawant turned virality professor for Prime Video’s The Tribe

At a time when Netflix India and JioCinema are streaming the return seasons of Fabulous Lives of Bollywood Wives and Bigg Boss, respectively, Amazon Prime Video—the new kid on the reality show block—needs to do something unique to ensure its show The Tribe stands apart from its rivals, which enjoy an established viewer base.

So, it turns to the woman who invented virality during the internet era, before the social media boom—Rakhi Sawant.

The Tribe is a reality show following five young Indian influencers trying to make it big in Los Angeles. Watching Sawant teach the young women of this show the basics of virality was a treat. Witnessing her recite her most famous lines felt like an ode to bygone eras– nostalgia marketing is truly having its moment in the spotlight.

“She is naturally humorous and energetic. Everyone knows and loves her, and we felt she would be a nice contrast to the posh, westernised girls of The Tribe,” says Parul Agarwal, creative director of Youngun, a meme-marketing agency that developed this campaign.

The brief from Prime Video was clear: “Create content that will travel on social media, get people talking about the show, highlight the show’s environment, and avoid making it look like a typical Indian reality show.”

Bringing in Sawant adds a touch of desi flair to the show’s promotions and sparks interest among the “audience that is accustomed to watching reality shows in the country.”

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When Sawant doles out the tricks of the virality trade, you believe her, because she has proven her mettle across the vast landscape of Indian reality TV shows —Bigg Boss; Pati, Patni Aur Woh; Maa Exchange; and Welcome—Baazi Mehmaan Nawazi Ki. Youngun’s Agarwal concurs, saying, “Wherever Sawant has participated, she made a statement. You cannot ignore Rakhi Sawant.”

The delightful aspect of the video is hearing now-iconic pop culture dialogues like “Jo Bhagwan nahi deta, doctor deta hai,” first heard on the celebrity chat show Koffee With Karan. Then there’s the recreation of Bigg Boss contestant Sambhavna Seth’s famous line, “Bhai pe mat jaana.”

But will the target audience of The Tribe—Gen Z and young millennials—find themselves clueless about these iconic lines?

Agarwal disagrees, explaining that today’s Gen Z “consumes a lot of older content” thanks to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. “They love 2000s movies; they love 2000s music. They also have fondness for sitcoms; Gen Z likes Saath Nibhana Saathiya.”

All these old pop culture moments, along with Rakhi Sawant, tie back to the ongoing trend of nostalgia marketing in advertising. We’ve seen characters from Sony’s CID and Crime Patrol playing their roles in brand ads, actors re-enacting their characters from the Munnabhai series and Gunda in ads for ACKO and boAt, and Karishma Kapoor dancing to ‘Sona Kitna Sona Hai’ for Swiggy Instamart.

Agarwal feels that we haven’t completely exhausted nostalgia, and brands are mixing the old and new in their communications.

To stand out these days, one needs to do epic things online or on television. Rakhi Sawant’s lessons on virality revolve around kalesh (trouble); she’s a pro at it. Don’t miss the recreation of Ankur Warikoo’s book Do Epic Shit as Do Epic Kalesh at the end. That’s how you stay in the limelight.

Youngun Credits: 

Parul Agarwal 
Anushka Nayak
Vaidehi Jawade
Raghav Pandey
Lakshay Choudhary