HI Rai – The One Who Gave Recognition to Himachal in the World of Comedy

You will find many people who make people laugh through their comedy, but very few people make comedy their profession. Abhimanyu Rai is such a personality that it would not be wrong to call him an expert in every field. Abhimanyu is a resident of Mandi. And in today’s date itself, Rai is not dependent on any identity. Diary Times shared some such moments, let’s  introduce you to a glimpse of those moments with Hi Rai.

🔹-How did you came up with name MIRCHI HI RAI ?

So I started a youtube channel “Rai Ki Vines” and it was doing well but people started comparing it with “BB Ki Vines” for some obvious reasons like the name of the channel itself. At that time I was running my resort in Manali, and I got an opportunity to attend a workshop by Kopal Theater (Manoj Pahwa Sir and Seema Pahwa Mam) and I was appreciated in every activity I participated in which made me a Promoted as an artist.

I met a guy Brij Mohan who was part of the same group and I showed him my channel. He said a very accurate thing –“ You will become famous from this channel but your own identity will not be made from this”. And on the same day I deleted that channel. After that I didn’t do anything for a year until I got the idea of ​​“Mandayali Comedy”. The basic idea was just to showcase the status and some Mandyali specific things to the world. I had the idea about the channel name but was confused. I did not like to have the channel name as  Abhimanyu Rai.

As for the name “HI RAI”,  my friend Dheeraj who is a well known YouTuber by the channel name REVHEAD suggested me to have a name which can also be converted into a brand name in future and it actually worked for me.

So HI RAI means

HI – for hie👋🏻

HI – for High⬆️

HI- for Himachali🏔️

Rai- Being my surname. Later I started working with Radio Mirchi and HI RAI became Mirchi HI Rai. As it is mandatory for every Mirchi RJ or content creator to add Mirchi as a prefix to their existing username in order to maintain brand consistency and identity.

🔹How did you become interested in making youtube video?

I have always loved to entertain people with my comedy since childhood. Be it my schoolmates or family gatherings, I loved making people laugh and this interest grew with time. So when I was in Manali (2016), I came to know that having a Gmail account, enables you to create a channel on YouTube and upload videos. So the comedy and fun that I used to have verbally turned into video. I started making videos about these situations and things with my friends. Earlier it was in Hindi later I started making videos around our local language “Mandayali”. I started groping for things I heard or saw from the people around me and  then I started adding some funny and comedy angles and started uploading videos around that on YouTube.

 🔹Generally, parents do not support in doing such things in Himachal as Himachali parents ask to pay more attention to education, So did you also face any such problem or did everything go smoothly? In which field is your basic education? How did you came from there to here?

 Not only in Himachal but all over India, parents are worried about the future of their children, as YouTube or social media is not considered a stable source of income. Now coming to my parents. There is a very friendly atmosphere in my house. Yes, they were worried about my future but They never stopped me from doing this. I used to get calls and DMs from people on social media asking how to convince parents for this line. The point is that at least we should do something that will make them believe that we are capable of doing things the right way. Same was the case with me,  but I didn’t argue with them, I just showed them the results which were – my videos going viral, my parents and family members on their work groups getting my videos, people were talking about me with my parents and were also coming to interview me, and I got a job as an RJ in Mirchi. On the other hand I was also academically sound as well. I have done Mtech in civil engineering with first division. I have also cleared some exams before getting the job in Mirchi. So everything flows together and yes in my case it has been easy. When I was on youtub making videos and doing things that were getting viral slowly. Then I got to know about vacancy in Radio Mirchi and applied for it. My youtube channel with around 55 videos of mine that time worked as my CV for entering Radio Mirchi and I was hired and hence my line was changed completely.

🔹 Something about your personal life?

Personal life is also almost the same and available on my social media to an extent (as far as I am comfortable sharing it) rest is as it should be. I have a very cool and friendly family at my home which is always my first source of energy, positivity and sometimes my content, as almost everyone in my home has a great sense of humor.

🔹What is the effect of being a YouTube sensation on personal life?

 There are many positive effects and some negative effects on personal life as well. It is very pleasant to be among the people whenever you step into your city. People recognize you for your work and it gives a huge positive boost of happiness and motivation that I must keep doing something or the other to keep doing this work. Many places people invite you as guests, people gather to take selfies, how overwhelming it all is, but on the other hand some people abuse you without any reason, people expect you to be available for them always, people will ask for personal phone number and will be annoyed to be rejected for the same. Some people respect you and your space but there are others who don’t.

🔹How did you get the inspiration to go to youtube?

First of all my Family. Because I am blessed with the most honest and hardworking and nicest people in my family and the environment is always so cool and friendly that I get most of my videos ideas from my home my family. Everyone who is an entertainer and people who are so perfect and engaged in their work, they are my inspiration. People who work so well in any form of art or in any field that their work gives you goosebumps, it shows how hard they have worked and prepare themselves so well, they are my inspiration.

🔸How did you come up with the idea of making content only in Mandyali?

First of all we should do what we are best or least good at and Mandyali is the language I have been speaking since childhood. There is one thing in our society. We like to borrow things from others and forget our own and sometimes even defame them. I have faced many things related to my Mandyalee speaking like “like my voice accent contains mandyal touch etc” Why and so what? This is my language. The tone will definitely come, won’t it? The English tone of English looks lovely, but our regional tone is bad why? So I  just represented Mandalay in a way that I thought and no one would have imagined at that time. People change their tone only after moving out of their homes to mix in new places and people but what does it mean to change yourself to make other people like you, We don’t need anyone’s approval. Now people are liking and using my dialogues, people (at least those who follow me) are not ashamed of our language anymore. And people other than Mandi and other than Himachalis send me messages that they like my work and want to learn Mandyali. It’s just that you accept your things first. Then you can make others accept  you as you are. For example – Punjabi and Haryanvi, They are doing everything in their own language in their own way and now Punjabi and Haryanvi songs are heard almost everywhere. Same is the case with telugu and malayalam and marathis. They have their own entertainment industry now because they accept their language and they feel no shame in it. Similarly I am also trying to display it in a way that people get it, understand it and enjoy it and feel proud to use it.

🔹You are already so famous, so what are you planning to do next?

Actually, I have got attention and fame since childhood. It gradually grew with the expansion of my work from school to college, from youtube to social media. That’s why I never find this fame alien to me, I am used to it now and I enjoy it. I am getting what people dream of so it’s great, and talking about future planning, I never plan things, I just believe in doing my job properly. I entertain people with whatever I can create for them and always have a good intention. Everything else comes to you automatically. As you move forward with good intentions, the roads are cleared, new opportunities emerge. I never planned to become a YouTuber or RJ or to become famous, I just did my job and got it all by myself.

🔹What is your relationship status, this question will be in the heart of all your female fans, so what would you like to answer?

I am happily married to my beautiful wife Akanksha, it has been more than a year now and I have many fun series with my wife  on my instagram and facebook page.

🔹How much do your friends support you?

Everyone, be it my school friend, college friend, everyone supports me by sharing my videos. They call me to appreciate my work, some friends also give suggestions about my content, some friends even video call me to show their other friends that we are friends which means a lot to me.

🔹What message would you like to give to the readers of Diary Times?

I think if you have read this article then you have an idea of ​​what and how I work. And it works the same in every field. Just do your job properly, do whatever you do with clean and noble intentions and everything will be well your way. When my evening show “Veer Ji Badka Ji” on 98.3 Mirchi Chandigarh ends, I always repeat one line-

“Be happy, create happiness around you, don’t disturb anyone and you will automatically see your problems going away”