Raveena, Kajol, Madhuri... social media influencer 'BollywoodBoi' keeps 90s nostalgia alive

New Delhi: Everyone likes to put people in boxes, says Deen Parmar, better known as BollywoodBoi to his almost one million TikTok and Instagram followers. But the British Indian artist refuses to be slotted, blurring gender boundaries as he dances up a storm with his recreation of 1990s songs filmed mostly on women.

And so there he is emoting like Raveena Tandon on “Tip Tip Barsa Paani” from “Mohra”, Kajol in “Mehendi Lagake Rakhna” from “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge” or Urmila Matonkar in “Chamma Chamma”, recreating each move, step and expression – complete with beard, unwaxed legs and jewellery made of aluminium foil.

That he is a full time UK government senior leader for diversity and inclusion makes the 34-year-old more interesting.

"People like to put people in boxes. Some people don't like my content because they think it's controversial. I don't think there's anything controversial about it to be honest. It's acting, that's what actors do. That's what they do with their content," Parmar told PTI in an exclusive interview over Zoom.

He dedicates weekends, usually Sundays, to film and upload new content.

The video creator has garnered a massive fan following through his self-shot and self-edited clips of famous Hindi film tracks.

"For me, it's all about embracing cultures and just getting everyone to kind of join in. Because I think Bollywood is something that brings everyone together. That's the beauty of Bollywood," the Gloucestershire-based influencer said.

The popularity is growing by leaps and bounds, he said, adding that some fans send in song requests. As BollywoodBoi, Deen has almost a million followers on Instagram and TikTok combined.

The British-Indian artist said he has a "fixation with '90s Bollywood", singling out "Raja" and "Beta", both starring his favourite Madhuri Dixit.

"For me, the 90s era is the best and that's what I try to capture in my content. Ultimately, I do the songs that I love because I think if you enjoy them and have a passion for them, it shows through your content," he added.

It all started in June 2021 during the Covid pandemic.

"People were bored. We had nothing to do. I was working from home a lot. My weekends were like, I was doing nothing. So I thought, 'let me make a TikTok' (video). Let's see how it goes. My first major viral video was 'Gup Chup' (from 'Karan Arjun'). And it was basically just me with my Gucci scarf dancing around my apartment... and it just blew up. I was like 'Oh my God! People like this'," he recalled.

That was just the beginning.

In his short clips, Deen, who started off with songs featuring women stars, recreates in detail the original choreography and also the wardrobe – except it’s sometimes a knotted T-shirt or gracefully draped bedsheet and the jewellery is aluminium. And all of it in some way mirroring the song.

In August 2021, he shared videos of two different songs: "Mera Laung Gawacha" on Pakistan's Independence Day and "Chamma Chamma" on India's Independence Day. It was the first time he used foil, a resource he keeps recycling.

"Because 'Laung Gawacha'... it's a lot of footwork. I thought, 'Oh, something's missing'. And I was like, 'Let me get some aluminum foil and pretend they're like 'paayal' (anklets)' and then that went okay. It didn't blow up massively, but it did well.

"The next day, because I remember India's independence followed, I thought, 'Let me do something iconic...' And then I did 'Chamma Chamma' and it went crazy," said the dancer, most of whose followers belong to India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Middle East.

What's also unique about Deen is his comfort with playing the heroine in most of his videos without altering his physical appearance. More recently, he started featuring in reels ("Paas Woh Aane Lage Zara Zara" from "Main Khiladi Tu Anari") as the hero and heroine both.

Along with the bouquets come the brickbats.

But the dancer is undeterred and said “it's all about being yourself".

The influencer, who is the youngest of three siblings, said the first Bollywood film he watched was the Sridevi-starrer "Nagina" and later fell in love with Madhuri Dixit.

"I've almost without realising studied the way they express through their eyes. Because for me a lot of my content, it's not just about doing a dance routine or getting the angle shots right. It's about showing that expression through your eyes, which is a really key element, especially during the '90s..."

Deen's success has also made his family proud and the dancer said his parents Dinesh, an Indian Gujarati, and Lynn Parmar, an English Gypsy, are fans of his content.

"My dad even put in the request for 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'. He was like, 'Deen, can you do this one?' I have the most amazing parents. Alhamdulillah, I am super blessed. They just support me in whatever I do. I think because my parents broke that barrier by marrying each other... That's half the challenge...

"They had challenges when they first met and, you know, before they got married. That wasn't easy, you know? And that's just kind of funneled down, I guess," he said about his parents who met at a Walls ice cream factory.

He now wants to push the envelope further by pursuing a career in movies. An aspiring actor, Deen said he received a call to audition for a film by the casting director of a prestigious Indian production banner but the project is currently on hold.

"I don't even know what's gonna happen, but the fact that they reached out in the first place and wanted me to audition is telling me that my content is getting out there. The interest is there. I would love to be a Bollywood actor," he added.