Move over selfie, India is embracing the "velfie" with Bollywood stars, sporting heroes and even politicians taking and posting videos of themselves online using a range of new mobile apps.
From lip-synching famous movie scenes and quizzing political leaders to interviewing job candidates, Indian tech firms are betting on the latest craze to grip social media -- the video selfie.
"2014 was about selfies... 2015 is for #velfies!" screams the blurb for Velfie, a smartphone app similar to Dubsmash where users mime songs or quotes to pre-recorded audio before posting the clips on social networks.
German-developed Dubsmash has rapidly become a global phenomenon since its launch in November and has been downloaded more than 50 million times across 192 countries, according to its website.
The global craze is sweeping the Indian film industry, with numerous stars entertaining legions of loyal fans with dubbed videos which are uploaded to popular sharing platforms Facebook and Instagram.
Actors Salman Khan and Ranveer Singh, and actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Richa Chadda are just some of the Bollywood stars to have embraced it, lip-synching everything from Hindi film dialogue to lyrics from Western songs.
A short clip of Khan and Sinha miming lines from a 1971 Indian movie has been liked more than 71,000 times on Instagram, while hundreds approved of Chadda's turn from controversial American hip-hop song "Baby Got Back".
Rammohan Sundaram, co-founder of India's Velfie, which was launched in April, said videos were a more entertaining way for Bollywood royalty and other celebrities to engage with their audiences.
A Twitter made of 'velfies'
"A selfie is only one picture but a 'velfie' can speak of emotions that you just can't render in a single photo," Sundaram told AFP.
"Selfies will remain because pictures will always be there but we're creating a whole new space that's more exciting, more engaging and more social in nature," he added.
Film star Akshay Kumar used Velfie recently to promote his film "Gabbar is Back" by asking fans to dub their favourite line from the movie to win a chance to meet him.
Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh is also a fan -- his lip-synching of one of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan's most well-known movie lines has been liked 12,000 times on Facebook.
The app -- which is free and limits videos to ten seconds in length -- has been downloaded 200,000 times and is already operating in around 140 countries, according to Sundaram.
He said its pause-and-play feature and the fact many of the videos are accompanied by subtitles differentiates it from Dubsmash.
"We've also made a lot of enhancement filters that make the videos look really good," the tech developer added.
Sundaram said Velfie plans to expand to become a "video social network" in the coming months, essentially a Twitter-like timeline consisting solely of video selfies.
Users will also be able to live-stream on the platform and Sundaram hopes brands will use it to advertise, generating revenue.
Quizzing politicians
Another new Indian-based app available on Android and iOS is Frankly.me, which allows netizens to pose questions to celebrities, sports stars and politicians who then answer with video selfies.
Users of the app, launched in January, are also able to vote for certain questions to be answered, increasing the likelihood of a response, according to co-founder Nikunj Jain who says Frankly.me is aiding democracy in India.
In Delhi elections earlier this year, Aam Aadmi Party candidates including leader Arvind Kejriwal fielded thousands of queries directly from voters and then posted videos of themselves replying.
"For the first time in the history of this country we had a state election where candidates were using this platform to talk directly to the electorate and people voted based on the responses," Jain told AFP.
He said more than 400,000 questions have been asked and around 30,000 have been answered so far on Frankly.me.
"Casting directors are also using it to do auditions and companies are using it for hiring," Jain added.
He said that while popular video app Vine was about "broadcasting" short videos, Frankly.me aimed to create "rich, two-way conversation" with people replying to each other when it was convenient for them.
"We believe that video selfies can be the primary mode of all non-urgent communication on the internet," Jain stated.
AFP
Mon Jul 06 2015
A 'selfie' (pic) is only one picture but a 'velfie' can speak of emotions that you just can't render in a single photo. - File Photo
AWANI Global: konflik Asia Barat: Perang Israel-Hezbollah
Israel semakin 'menggila' memperluaskan tujuan perangnya menyerang sempadan negara berdaulat yang bersekutu dengan Hamas. Sejauh mana keangkuhan Israel membuka mata dan merubah pandangan dunia terhadap kekejaman peristiwa di Palestin pada 7 Oktober tahun lalu?
AWANI Ringkas: Kelapa diletak di bawah Lembaga Koko Malaysia
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
Kejadian tembak di Selama, polis tahan pemilik kebun
Polis menahan seorang lelaki tempatan kerana disyaki terlibat kes tembakan sehingga menyebabkan seorang individu cedera di Kampung Sumpit Beras, Rantau Panjang dekat Selama Jumaat lepas.
#AWANIRingkas 6 Oktober 2024 | 9 PM
Berikut merupakan rangkuman berita setakat 9 malam, 6 Oktober 2024
1️⃣ Wanita Palestin mohon maaf cetus kekecohan
2️⃣ Kelapa diletak di bawah Lembaga Koko Malaysia
3️⃣ Kedai runcit simpan, cuci sayuran dalam tandas sebelum dijual
#awaniringkas
1️⃣ Wanita Palestin mohon maaf cetus kekecohan
2️⃣ Kelapa diletak di bawah Lembaga Koko Malaysia
3️⃣ Kedai runcit simpan, cuci sayuran dalam tandas sebelum dijual
#awaniringkas
Kalau mahu lindungi gajah, selamatkan kami dulu
Lebih seribu penduduk di tiga kampung di Hulu Terengganu semakin dihimpit ketakutan apabila kampung mereka bagaikan bertukar menjadi perkampungan gajah.
Kabinet setuju komoditi kelapa di bawah Lembaga Koko Malaysia - TPM Ahmad Zahid
Jemaah Menteri bersetuju menstrukturkan Lembaga Koko Malaysia dengan memasukkan komoditi kelapa di bawah agensi itu.
Operasi larangan merokok di premis, Akta 852 berkuatkuasa
Akta 852 atau Akta Kawalan Produk Merokok Demi Kesihatan Awam 2024 mula berkuatkuasa pada 1 Oktober 2024.
Susulan itu, Kementerian Kesihatan kini giat melakukam pemantauan dari premis ke premis sejak Akta 852 mula dikuatkuasakan.
Hari ini, Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad sendiri turun padang menyertai operasi di Puncak Alam, Selangor.
Susulan itu, Kementerian Kesihatan kini giat melakukam pemantauan dari premis ke premis sejak Akta 852 mula dikuatkuasakan.
Hari ini, Menteri Kesihatan, Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad sendiri turun padang menyertai operasi di Puncak Alam, Selangor.
Wartawan Malaysia nyaris terkandas, protes tutup jalan
Kumpulan wartawan Malaysia termasuk Astro AWANI yang berada di Islamabad bagi membuat liputan Lawatan Negara Perdana Menteri Malaysia, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim ke Pakistan, hampir terkandas malam Sabtu.
21 warga Bangladesh ditahan, menyamar jadi atlet untuk masuk Malaysia
Jabatan Imigresen menumpaskan sindiket menyeludup masuk warga asing dengan menyamar sebagai ahli sukan dengan penahanan 21 warga Bangladesh di Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, Khamis lepas.
21 warga Bangladesh ditahan, menyamar atlet masuk Malaysia
Jabatan Imigresen menumpaskan sindiket menyeludup masuk warga asing dengan menyamar sebagai ahli sukan dengan penahanan 21 warga Bangladesh di Maluri, Kuala Lumpur, Khamis lalu.
Bintang Bollywood Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh sambut cahaya mata pertama
Deepika sebelum ini mengumumkan kehamilannya pada Februari lalu.
Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh teruja sambut bayi sulung
Pasangan Bollywood, Deepika Padukone dan Ranveer Singh dilaporkan semakin teruja bakal menyambut kelahiran bayi sulung mereka.
Shah Rukh Khan dikejarkan ke hospital akibat strok haba
Aktor tersohor Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan dikejarkan ke Hospital Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India akibat strok haba dan dehidrasi kelmarin.
Rumah tangga didakwa bakal musnah, Aishwarya Rai dan Abhishek Bachchan pamer keharmonian
Keharmonian rumah tangga pasangan tersohor Bollywood, Aishwarya Rai dan Abhishek Bachchan menjadi bualan hangat kebelakangan ini.
Bakal blockbuster! Sunny Deol jadi hero filem terbaharu Aamir Khan 'Lahore 1947'
Peminat menyifatkan kerjasama yang terjalin akan membuat filem tersebut menjadi karya pecah panggung.
Shah Rukh Khan lakukan pembedahan hidung di Amerika Syarikat
Shah Rukh Khan dikatakan telah mengalami kemalangan sewaktu terbabit dalam sebuah projek yang dijalankan di Los Angeles.
Kajol dakwa berdepan ujian terberat, hapus semua foto, rehat dari media sosial
Pesohor Bollywood, Kajol membuat kejutan kepada warganet dan peminat apabila mengumumkan berehat daripada dunia media sosial.
Sangkut dalam kesesakan, Amitabh Bachchan tumpang motor ke set penggambaran
Salah seorang pesohor yang tidak terlepas daripada masalah kesesakan jalan raya adalah Amitabh Bachchan.
Deepika Padukone ajak pasangan muda ikut petua perkahwinan orang lama
Aktres Bollywood, Deepika Padukone baru muncul sebagai wajah sampul majalah berprestij Time yang mengiktirafnya sebagai Global Star.
Filem baharu Salman Khan, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan tak laku
Filem terkini Salman Khan, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan dilaporkan tidak mencapai sasaran atau kutipan pecah panggung meski ia turut dibintangi oleh ramai pelakon gred A Bollywood.