KARACHI: In a small building in Karachi’s low-income and densely populated Baldia Town area, 16-year-old Talha Ahmed is busy recording new content for his Instagram channel. His videos have recently been a hit with millions of people, partly due to his stellar acting and partly due to the relatable themes he employs.
Ahmed is a content creator who started making humorous skits in July 2024 and has amassed over 324,000 followers after uploading around 116 of them. A recent video of his, poking fun at the way India’s Bollywood film industry stereotypes Muslims, has notched over 20 million views.
Despite being shot on just a cellphone, without the support of a professional camera or tripod, his skits have the necessary ingredients to evoke bone-tingling laughs: strong scripts, meticulous acting and perfect dialogue delivery.
“My idea was to create content that families can also enjoy together, something that’s for everyone and can be watched with joy by all,” Ahmed told Arab News in a recent conversation.
His content is indeed relatable. In one of his videos, Ahmed essays the character of that one family member who does not wake up for the suhoor meals in Ramadan and does not fast, but eagerly shows up before everyone else for the evening iftar meal.
In another, he takes aim at popular journalist and television host Suhail Warraich, expertly blurting out dialogues in his signature impassive tone.
One particular video Ahmed enjoyed making focused on the behavior of tailors ahead of Eid Al-Fitr. The Pakistani content creator poked fun at tailors who habitually lie to customers about their orders.
“’No, brother, there’s still an issue... the outfit is out for buttoning,’” Ahmed said, mimicking the typical excuses offered by Pakistani tailors.
‘GREAT SKILL, CREATIVE MIND’
Talha’s creative process is largely self-driven.
“Almost all scripts and ideas for my videos are my own,” he said.
He wrote many of the videos he shot himself, while for others, Ahmed wrote a few lines and then showed them to his family for their feedback.
“If they wanted to refine it or make any improvements, they helped me with that,” he explained.
Dr. Taha Ahmed, his brother, helps record the videos and improves the writing in them as well. He recalled how Ahmed recorded some of the earlier videos when he didn’t even own a mobile phone.
“Some days, he would use his sister’s phone to make videos and other days, he would use his brother’s phone to create content,” Dr. Taha told Arab News.
“That is a testament to his great skill and creative mind.”
Talha said his ability to connect with the audience stems from the fact that he lives with the same ground realities they do.
“The issues I face are the same as those faced by other people,” he explained. “These are relatable, and people can connect with them because we live in the same society that others live in.”
Talha balances his growing online career with his education, having completed his matriculation exams recently.
He suffers from thalassemia, a genetic blood disorder that requires regular transfusions and management since childhood.
However, he doesn’t let the disease define who he is.
“Today, praise be to Allah, my work is my identity— my illness is not my reference,” he said.