Mr. Faisu: The Rise Of An Unlikely Digital Powerhouse

Mr. Faisu doesn’t fuss about anything. When you meet him, you’re struck first not by his internet stardom but by his stillness. There’s a calm, almost old-world politeness about him that feels out of place in the restless digital age.

At his Goregaon high-rise apartment with a stunning view of a sprawling Mumbai from his 12th-floor balcony, he offers dates and tea. During the photoshoot, Faisu, whose full name is Faisal Shaikh, listens carefully to the photographer’s directions and quietly slips into each outfit. He doesn’t hover around the monitor to inspect his angles. When he finally glances at the shots, his only response is a soft “Okay.”

This is, after all, a man with over 36 million followers across Instagram and YouTube — one of India’s earliest internet success stories. But the 31-year-old isn’t chasing virality anymore. “The biggest success for me isn’t what people think it is,” he says. “It’s the sound of my mother laughing in the other room. The fact that I could make that happen, give my family this lifestyle —that’s enough for me.”

Bandra to Bollywood

Faisu’s rise mirrors India’s digital evolution. Around 2018, when micro-content platforms like TikTok and Dubsmash transformed the very idea of a celebrity, a young Faisu and his cousin uploaded a one-minute video lip-syncing to a line from Dabangg (2010), which he had tweaked using an editing software.

“Everyone was making 15-second videos, but we went for a full minute,” he recalls. “Within two months, my friends in (Mumbai’s) Rizvi College started calling us ‘stars.’ That was the first time I realised something had changed, that maybe I was ‘famous,’” he says.

Soon, around 2017, he and his friends formed Team 07, a content collective that became a cultural phenomenon among early TikTok users. Fame arrived fast and stayed. It allowed him to move from Mumbai’s Bandra East to Goregaon West, where his neighbours now include Bollywood’s familiar faces (including actor Taapsee Pannu). But comfort was never the endgame.

After appearances on reality TV — Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa Season 10 (2022), Khatron Ke Khiladi the same year and this year’s Celebrity MasterChef India — along with music videos (“Bewafai,” “Lehja,” “Tera Kasoor”) and the ZEE5 series Bang Baang, Faisu is preparing for his next chapter: a full-time transition into acting and entrepreneurship.

Algorithm and Ambitions

His ambition finds its roots in 2019, when he launched ‘2407’, his own deodorant line. It sold over 35,000 units on pre-order, crashing the website in the process.

“That was when I realised my audience didn’t just watch me for free but were rooting for me in real life,” he says. “They wanted to be part of my journey. That’s when I knew I had to think beyond the smartphone screen.”

Which is why, for Faisu, the label “content creator” now feels limiting. “Whoever called themselves ‘content creators’ in 2019-2020, are now calling themselves entrepreneurs,” he observes. “Simply content creation is not enough. What will you do if you have 33 million followers in the digital world? You must do something bigger, aim higher. I am very ambitious that way.”

He’s currently working on a new accessories brand and has already shot a 60-episode micro-drama titled Chefzade. Still, he’s candid about the pressure that comes with being a digital public figure.

“What few will tell you is that being a digital creator is a (high) pressure job,” he admits. “Maintaining those numbers is not easy. Fighting the algorithm, putting out non-vulgar content, not letting trends dictate you — it takes a lot, especially when the stakes are so high. You have to be better than your last post, which could have been just three days ago. In the race to be relevant, I want to focus on upgrading myself.”

And this, Faisu says, isn’t only to uplift his family but also to let himself enjoy the perks of fame. He wants a film award trophy. He’s manifesting being cast in the next season of Aryan Khan’s The Ba***ds of Bollywood and aspires to own a collection of the most luxurious watches in the world.

“If I keep my head down and work but reach for the stars, it can happen,” he says, echoing the philosophy that lives in his YouTube bio: ‘Started from the bottom now we here.’

For someone who built their empire on 60-second clips, Faisu seems unbothered by the speed of change around him. Perhaps that’s the secret to longevity in the digital age — knowing when to move fast, and when to stay perfectly still.

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