Welcome to the Dharnaverse: There's drama, there's jokes in Dharna Durga's world

“My family was enjoying my ‘new job’,” jokes Durga, “For some of my initial videos, my mom would send them on society and family groups, asking them to follow me.” Later, when they found out that one can make a living as a content creator, they were ecstatic. In fact, she says, “Now my parents think it’s the best career option. My cousin is into art, so she tells him to post those videos on Instagram and promote them.” In July 2021, she started working with IPLIX Media, where the team helped her get larger brand deals and helped her out with editing as well.

But Durga’s process for creating videos has remained the same over the years—observations from everyday life. “Lately, I have started understanding my audience better. So that has helped me improve my writing and editing,” she says.

Also read:  Ankush Bahuguna: The creator carving a niche in beauty

Though there are enough and more comedy content creators, Durga’s philosophy is to stick to what she does best: Focus on improving and learning what her audience wants. How much do the numbers matter? “They do matter because they help you understand your audience better. But I feel it is good pressure that helps you get better,” she says.

Even for branded content, her concept is to add a brand into a relatable and organic concept. “Her range of characters and staple of engaging content formats facilitate brands to be placed with ease and without any forced fits. The content is written in a way that you won’t anticipate an integration and a piece of promotion drops out of nowhere in the script,” says Rajwani.

While working with brands, Durga looks at the creative freedom. “If the brand wants me to create a traditional advertisement, I don’t think I’ll be comfortable doing that,” she says. She has worked with brands such as Amazon, Google, Veet and Face Shop, among many others.

Content creation is not known to be a sustainable industry, particularly in terms of a constant stream of income. However, Durga believes that with constant reinvention, she can sustain herself. “But if I stick to a certain kind of content, not experiment and step out of my comfort zone, then my audience will start getting bored,” she says.

“If not a content creator, I would’ve definitely liked to give acting a shot,” she says. Going forward, she wants to look at acting opportunities—either in web series or films.”