Arunabh Kumar, the visionary behind The Viral Fever (TVF), entered the entertainment industry driven by admiration for Shah Rukh Khan. Today, TVF stands among India’s most prominent digital content creators, celebrated for producing stories that audiences relate to deeply. However, Arunabh’s path to success was not instantaneous; it was rooted in a deep passion for storytelling and inspiration from SRK’s work. Moreover, he worked as an assistant director on Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone starrer 'Om Shanti Om'.
Arunabh shared nostalgic insights
Recently, as SRK marked his 59th birthday, Arunabh shared nostalgic insights on social media about his initial experiences. For those who don't know, Arunabh began his career as an Assistant Director on Om Shanti Om, eventually leading to an exciting opportunity: directing SRK himself in 2014 for his first online content project. Securing Shah Rukh Khan as the guest for a pilot episode was a monumental achievement at a time when YouTube and viral videos were just emerging.
Here's what Arunabh wrote on Instagram
From being a Stand-In for his shots on Om Shanti Om, as an AD ( Assistant Director) in 2007, to being able to direct him for the 1st time on Online Content in 2014… when YouTube & Viral Videos were still unpopular words… and still he agreed to be a part of the pilot episode of a show where the idea was to get the Celebs to be themselves and have fun…we literally got the BIGGEST SUPERSTAR for the 1st Episode itself and It was his sense of humour, charm and effortless wit that helped us put together Indian Internet’s FIRST Online Talk Show…which would not have been possible without him…& encouraged us at TVF to keep working on our stories as he could see the future. It is a rare privilege that the 1st company you work for you get SRK as your Big Boss. Happy Birthday Sir @iamsrk for I truly started my journey in this profession because of you.
This year, TVF continues to make waves with popular series like Sapne Vs Everyone, Very Parivarik, Panchayat (Season 3), Kota Factory (Season 3), Gullak (Season 4), and Arranged Couple, setting the bar high for Indian digital content.