EXCLUSIVE | Dolly Singh on being the only creator in India to win the Instagram Rings award: 'Don't know if I've ever been happier in life'

Actor, social media influencer, and content creator Dolly Singh has all the reasons to be elated and on cloud nine as she’s the only creator in India who shall be receiving the Instagram Rings award this year. This is a new initiative by Instagram that will give 25 creators a literal gold ring and a matching badge on their profile.

In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Dolly opened up on the extraordinary feat, the evolution of social media over the years, and the people she herself was inspired by.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

You are the only creator from India receiving this prestigious Rings award. How does it feel?

I feel over the moon, I feel on cloud nine, I’m definitely not on Earth. I have gone somewhere else in some other universe, but I think overall, there is a sort of disbelief, definitely. I think it’s not sunk in. I have goosebumps every time I think about it. So it’s definitely a huge, huge deal. I still am taking it in. I think by the time it doesn’t fully happen, like, I’m there and I’m receiving it, I don’t think it’ll fully take over that feeling. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier in life.

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Is there anything that you’re anticipating when you go there and receive the award?

I just hope I’m there, and I’m, you know, receiving it, and I’m not saying anything stupid. That’s something I end up doing. So, all I want to do is be graceful, receive my award, and, you know, hopefully make my way back home in one piece.

How much has social media evolved for you over the years?

A lot! I obviously started way back; it’s been 10- 11 years that I’ve been making content actively. I think social media, for me as an introvert, was also a way of just expressing myself by being able to talk to people, socializing in some way, so you don’t always have to meet people. My best friend Komal, I met her on a Facebook chat. So it’s definitely influenced me in different ways. I think a lot of my decisions when I was younger would be made on what’s cool on social media, which is not always the right way to look at life, but that’s how influenced I used to be. Then, obviously, I started creating content. I started with a fashion blog on Instagram, and then comedy happened to me by accident, which was a very beautiful, happy accident, like Bob Ross says.

So, it’s been quite a journey, and it has taught me a lot of things. I have also learned to balance social media usage and that not all of life can be learned and lived on social media. That’s also a grown-up learning that you have when you’re reaching your 30s - you realise that you love social media, but there’s also real life that you need to pursue. So, that has happened. I think my social media journey as a creator has also been quite challenging, and at the same time, fun because it changes every minute. There’s barely any control you can have. It’s like a workspace you go to every day, and every day it’s new. It’s a different format, it’s a new building altogether every day, right?

So you have to take that on and try to make sense of whatever is in front of you, and work with it. I think that’s what brings the fun, because there is no way that it can be monotonous for you. Maybe your work can feel monotonous for a point, but then the social media algorithm, apps, platforms, everything will change so quickly that suddenly everything feels new. Even if you may not have changed anything about your content. Something might feel new. So, it’s been a very fulfilling learning experience to be working on social media.

Also, being the first generation to be doing this as creators - obviously, it’s a bit nerve-wracking as well, because we don’t really have a lot of people who we can take as examples and be like, oh, this is the kind of journey I would like to see for myself, or this is how I would like to be, and there is always this question in my head that, oh, when I’m 70, or when I’m 60, do I want to be making content, or is there something else I would like to do? And I think it changes every year, because when I was younger, I didn’t think I would want to work on social media when I’m older, it’s gonna look so lame.

Now, I feel like that has completely changed, because I’ve seen so many creators who come from all ages and walks of life doing fabulous work, and are representing their lives. I think social media in a new wave right now has also reached a point where, you know, it’s so democratic -everybody can be a part of it and part of everyone’s real life stories. I think that the facade of social media is also breaking away, and people are more educated about how things go, how glamour works, how celebrityhood works, and how many hair extensions I must have put in, and it’s not my real hair. It’s been, like, a very enlightening journey in that sense. You learn every day, and then you forget every day, and it’s been fun. I don’t know if social media weren’t there, what exactly I would be doing, because I think social media helps me fulfill my desire to do so many things at the same time.

So, when do you think was that moment when you realized that social media has the power to entertain, influence, or maybe even inspire? And on that note, who are the creators that have inspired or influenced you? 

I’ve been a big social media audience myself, apart from being a creator, so I think I have particularly got very influenced by social media, things that happen on social media. I think social media, at this point, is just another portal where we can learn things. In fact, pretty much has become the only portal these days. I have personally been very much influenced, learned a lot of things. I think there is this, also, you know, that sixth degree of separation where you feel like you’re closer to people, celebrities that you’ve looked up to, or writers and movie makers, and, you know, been able to connect with them over the internet.

All these things, I think, have really helped me understand what it is that I want to do in life. When I became a creator, I always knew this thing, because I would look at people and hold them responsible for a lot of things, given that they have a platform. and, I would hope that whatever point they’re making has had a lot of thought put into it. When I became a creator, I took that responsibility very seriously, where I knew that I was going to entertain people, and create a certain type of content, but whatever I do has to come from my heart, has to be true to my story and myself.I don’t want to put false information or clickbait people into receiving any sort of information.

Obviously, social media is full of a variety of sources, which can be true and can be false, but I think I have always looked up to social media as a very true representation of society, and that’s how it should be.. It should be real, and it should be full of real stories rather than made-up things. My inspiration, if I look at it from my career point of view as a creator, I think, I think Lilly Singh is definitely someone I used to follow for years, watch her daily vlogs, and the way she has shaped her career. Then there is another called Benito Skinner, and he’s a fab creator! I think his video is always such a breath of fresh air, and now he’s developed it into a show that he made for Prime Video, and season 2 has been greenlit. As a creator, it feels very empowering to know that this is also a journey you can take, that you can move from social media and then also take up bigger platforms, and that creators are not restricted to any platform. Same with this other girl, Veronika Slowikowska, she is another comedy creator, fabulous at her work, very good improv comedy, and just joined SNL. These are the people I look up to, and as creators, they have definitely achieved some really big milestones, which I definitely would want to see for myself in some way or form.

In India, there is, this new girl that I’ve been following called Reenu Debnath and she’s so funny, and she inspires me because she reminds me that after doing it for 10-11 years, there’s a system that has been put in place - this production that happens in my videos, and there’s a a lot, maybe too much thought that goes into every product. But she reminds me that sometimes when there is less production and thought, and when you’re just having fun with your content, that content also really shines. It reminds me of the times when we used to do it, when there was no cataloging in place, or there was no system in place, or no script writing, but you’re just having fun. I think that’s the beauty of content anyway, that anything will find its audience. You just need to know what it is that you want to say and speak bout, and that’s wonderful.

How much of a difference do you think you’ve been able to make through your social media platforms? So, you know, when you meet people and interact with them, what do they come up and tell you?

When it comes to interacting with people, I tend to do that a lot with DMs. My focus has been on women and women’s topics, and I do it through comedy, serious prose, or serious mini-films. It’s just been close to my heart andsomething I want to talk about. While I do have a male following but its whem women come up to me and tell me you’ve inspired me to do this, or this is what I learned from you, or because of you, I’m going to try and do this because of you - it’s incredibly fulfilling. This is sisterhood for me. As a woman, you just want to see other women thrive, and it feels nice -If you can be a part of that journey for just a little bit, if you are the push that was needed. Sometimes I think about it that maybe it was a sign from God they (women) needed in that particular moment, and it was me. But to me, I think the most special thing that has happened in my journey has actually been when I’ve gone back to my relatives and in my village, I have had my Bhabhis and Maamis tell me how they are now focusing on their girls’ education, or they’re not getting them married off.

Like, this one Bhabhi, a distant relative of mine, was telling me how she fought for her daughter while her father and husband wanted the girl to get married after school, and she fought for her. To which my Bhabhi said, let her educate herself and do whatever she wants to do, look at Dolly. So I have become this example in my family. So, that is extremely special for me. t I hope that more and more women can use me as their excuse for their quote-unquote bad behavior in society now.While I’m saying this in a nice way but I’ve also become a bad example today with some other relatives and their families because they don’t care about my journey, particularly. So, whether I’m a good or a bad example, I think if I’m an example for women where they can just use me as the motivation to push their narrative forward or their argument forward, I’m here for it, and that makes it so special for me.

Your transition from social media to films, OTT, and your own microtrauma content, has gradually happened, right? So, was this transition planned, or was it accidental, something you just stumbled upon?

I think it was kind of both. I think there was a period in my social media journey where, I think the next step was like, oh, let’s go to Bollywood, and let’s act, and acting as a comedy creator was, definitely something that was always in my heart. It’s just that I never got a platform, so once I did, the next step was going to be Bollywood and working in movies, and it also happened. But it didn’t happen the way I thought it would. You know, there is this outsider perspective that you do one project and your life is going to change, so when I did my first Netflix show, I thought, oh, overnight my life is just gonna change, and I’m not gonna need social media anymore and content creation will just become my once-in-a-while thing. That’s what I was feeling, and nothing like that happened.

That was how it shadowed me. I’m like, okay, this is where reality kicks in, that this is not how the world changes. I went on to do a couple more movies but I realized very quickly that, first, obviously, entering Bollywood is a completely different ballgame altogether, especially if you want to do some very serious work, or if you want to do bigger roles. It is going to be a challenge to reach that level, to reach those people, to reach those casting offices, which I, to be honest, am not, like, really the best person at, and my networking skills are zero. I was feeling extremely unfulfilled just not being able to do all the things that I wanted to do, which included, obviously, one is acting, but I think direction, storytelling through my content creation. I’ve realized how much I love writing things. So those were facets where I was feeling unfulfilled, and I was like, okay, how do I enjoy these passions even if I can’t make it in Bollywood, or even if Bollywood is gonna be a slow burn, and it’s gonna take time, right?

So I decided that, you know what, like, we’ll do it on our platform that we have obviously built so far along, and not gonna look down at this platform. And there is what I feel like now, when I look at my social media, I feel very proud, and I feel like there is a new sense of rekindling of romance that has happened, you know, where I feel like I love the platform that I’ve created. I love to use it, and I want to tell all my stories on it, and I want to use it for its advantages, disadvantages, everything. There is so much you can do on social media that you can’t do otherwise. Like, all these small shows that I’m making, you can’t put them anywhere else.

Microdrama is only gonna work on social media. This is an idea that I came up with long back, because I loved long-form writing, so during COVID, I decided that, you know, maybe I’ll try doing this. Back then, we didn’t even know it’s called a microdrama, it’s a new term that has been coined now, so that time, I didn’t know what it is, and I made this six-part series, and people demanded a season two, and honestly, at that point, to call it a season was feeling so funny in my head. I couldn’t even write it down. Like, I couldn’t even take it seriously. We can’t call it a season, guys, come on, like, season is for shows and bigger level things, you know? So it was a bit of, like, a very funny change around me also, which was happening. And then we obviously did it properly with our show and everything. hing on Instagram.

And now, I think, like, social media gives you that opportunity to be able to experiment with whatever you can. Like, in our season two of my show, we actually left the finale in the hands of the people. We made a poll, and I asked them, which guy do you think she should go with.And they had to choose, and we shot both our endings, so we released the ending that they chose, and that is something that you can only do on social media. You can’t do it on a film screen, you can’t do it in a cinema, you can’t do it at a film festival, so Instagram is somewhere you can play like this.

So for me, it has been a very, very, fun and actually very exciting journey, especially the last few years that I’ve taken it with full storm, and I’m like, you know what, like, if this is my platform, I’m gonna make the best use of it. So I think it has been a very active work that has been put in, for sure. I don’t think it’s unplanned. We are definitely planning a lot of these things that my audiences are now seeing.

Obviously, there’s still some scope of unexpected things or accidents and happy accidents that still happen, but definitely I feel like I want to take it up more and more seriously. I don’t want my social media to feel like, oh, one day I’ll leave it behind. I don’t think so. I think now I fully immersed in this social media journey of mine, and I feel like now I would definitely be the 70-year-old who will be making videos about what? I don’t know, maybe they’ll be about gardening, but I’ll be there.