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29 March 2024

Dubai girl's Malayalam video blog makes waves on YouTube

Published
By Sneha May Francis

Using her social media presence responsibly is Dubai-based vblogger Lakshmi Menon, whose YouTube Malayalam talk show is making waves.

From movies to social issues, to parenting tips, Lakshmi covers just about everything under the sun.

Her latest video on net-neutrality, which has been a talking point in India, has received 29,024 views.

 

The video simplistically explains the issue, which has left many Internet users in India confused. “When I was researching on net neutrality, the one thing that I found was most videos on the topic were too complex so I decided to simplify the process,” she told Emirates24|7.

Lakshmi broke down the complex topic using three model cars, and a designed a funny conversation between a netizen and a service provider.

“Ashiq Abu the famous Malayalam director saw the video and shared it. It was a huge boost to my confidence and also increased the reach of net neutrality debate to the layman.”

Born in Kerala’s Thrissur, Lakshmi Menon has lived in Dubai for eight years now. She decided to give vblogging a go, after she watched James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’.

“I thought this was a very novel concept to express once ideas through. I googled it and found out that this was not the future but the present.

“Then, I googled to find out if anyone was doing it in our language Malayalam. I couldn’t find any, so thought why don’t I give it a shot? Hence, the channel was found.

Lakshmi conceptualises, enacts, and edits the videos from the comfort of her Dubai home. She explains that each idea for a video are “born on an impulse. It can be a sentence, a book or a video that gives me the spark.

“It doesn’t have a written script. It’s mostly impromptu. If the topic warrants research then I do it.”

Lakshmi, who has 12,366 subscribers, confesses that not all her vblogs are well received, and some are criticised. “The only thing I can promise is no matter how much I move forward I will voice my opinions for all relevant issues.”

The variety of topics, she insists, is just a “reflection of life and its variety”.

She maintains she is inspired by a lot of talent online. “Internationally there are a lot of amazing youtubers whose stories and works inspire me every day.”

Married to celebrated Malayalam RJ and movie actor Mithun Ramesh, and mother of one, Lakshmi is enjoying her time in the ‘YouTube’ spotlight, and has recently tied up with Bangalore-based Pepper Media, a leading multichannel network on YouTube.

“Like any other artist my intellectual property needs to be managed and now it’s being done by pepper media. The association has just started and I hope it goes a long way.”