For actor and comedian Sunil Grover, there is no fixed formula for creating something that connects with an audience. There is no guaranteed number of takes, no secret recipe for going viral and, perhaps most importantly, no substitute for getting the work right. Grover shared these thoughts while in conversation with radio jockey and digital creator RJ Raunac during a fireside chat titled “The Art of Storytelling” at the UP Creators Summit and Awards in Varanasi today (August 19).Speaking about the rapidly changing world of social media and content creation, Grover said creators should focus less on chasing virality and more on making something they genuinely believe in.“There is no rule that something will go viral”When asked whether there is a formula that creators can follow to make something go viral, Grover was clear that virality cannot be reduced to a set of rules. “There is no rule that something will go viral,” he said, adding that by the time a particular formula becomes established, its effectiveness may already have passed.According to Grover, creators have repeatedly seen trends emerge and disappear online, making it difficult to predict what audiences will respond to next.Instead, he suggested that creators should pay attention to what they themselves feel strongly about. “What you personally feel for will go viral,” he said, pointing towards the importance of conviction and genuine engagement with one’s work rather than simply trying to replicate what is already trending.“Number of takes doesn’t matter as long as you get it rightThe conversation also turned to something familiar to anyone who has tried making a reel: retakes.Does it take an actor like Grover multiple attempts to get a reel right? Sometimes, he said, it does. But the number of takes is not what matters. “Number of takes doesn’t matter as long as you get it right,” Grover said.He explained that a creator could get something right in the first take, while another piece might require several attempts. Neither approach necessarily determines the quality of the final result.For Grover, preparation plays an important role. When someone practises enough before recording, the performance can sometimes come together in the very first take. That preparation, in turn, can save time and make the process smoother. “It’s a process,” he said, suggesting that creators should not become overly concerned about how many attempts something takes.The focus, ultimately, should remain on the work itself.On improvisation: “Once you have done your work in the best manner…”
(L-R): RJ Raunac and Sunil Grover at UP Creators Summit and Awards
Grover also spoke about improvisation and whether it can help creators become more popular on social media. For him, improvisation works best when it comes after the basic work has already been done well. “Once you have done your work in the best manner, improvising after that makes sense,” he said.If an audience responds positively, i.e. if people smile, acknowledge something or connect with it, that response can help the performance evolve further.But Grover cautioned against treating improvisation as a guaranteed route to social-media popularity. You cannot completely depend on improvisation to make something popular, he explained. It has to work alongside preparation and the larger performance.“Initially I used to watch Instagram, now Instagram watches me”The actor also offered a humorous take on his relationship with Instagram. Asked how important the platform is to an established actor like him, how much time he spends on it and whether he learns from what he sees there, Grover admitted that he continues to check Instagram throughout the day whenever he has time.But his relationship with the platform appears to have evolved. “Initially I used to see Instagram, now Instagram watches me, ‘Ki bus kar, kitna dekhega’,” he joked.He added that when he feels he has spent too much time on his phone, he sometimes hides it under his bed to stop himself from using it.The comment drew attention to something many social-media users can relate to: even people who understand the mechanics of digital platforms can find themselves getting pulled into endless scrolling.“Struggling” days are actually part of the journey
Sunil Grover in conversation with RJ Raunac at UP Creators Summit and Awards
The conversation also went back to Grover’s early days as an actor. Asked what he struggled with when he was starting out and what made him keep trying, Grover responded with humour.He recalled that he initially struggled with tying a saree, before joking that he can now wear one faster than women do!But beneath the humour was a larger point about how he views the early stages of a career. Grover said that everyone struggles initially when they attempt something new. With regular practice, however, things gradually become easier.Interestingly, he does not necessarily look back at those experiences as struggles. Instead, he sees them as days of experiencing something new; experiences that eventually help a person move forward.He also said there is a certain joy in those early days because they do not return once success arrives. Looking back after achieving success, people may realise that the days they once considered difficult were also enjoyable in their own way. For Grover, that period is less about struggling and more about waiting, preparing, learning and experiencing.He encouraged people to enjoy that phase rather than constantly measuring themselves against the destination.Sometimes, he suggested, a person may not even realise when they have achieved success because they are so immersed in the process of moving forward.“I have a problem with the word ‘content’”Perhaps one of Grover’s most revealing observations came when the conversation touched upon the very idea of content creation. “I have a problem with the word ‘content’. I’m here to create art and entertain,” he said. The distinction is significant in an era where almost everything produced for a digital platform is routinely described as “content”.For Grover, the word can risk reducing creative work to something that simply fills a feed or satisfies an algorithm. His preference is to think about the work in terms of art and entertainment, and the connection it creates with an audience.That perspective also tied together several of his comments during the fireside chat.Whether it is a reel that takes one attempt or ten, an improvised moment, a performance prepared over years or a piece of work that unexpectedly finds an audience, the focus remains on the same thing: getting the work right and creating something people can connect with.At the UP Creators Summit and Awards, Grover’s conversation offered a reminder that behind the fast-moving world of reels, trends and viral moments, storytelling still comes down to something much more human: practice, instinct, preparation and the desire to make people feel something.CLICK HERE to know more about UP Creators Summit and Awards.
