There’s a new judge and jury in town. And he’s got his own channel.

Bhopal resident Abhishek Mishra’s bio says he was a “child scientist” who “generated electricity from urine at the age of 13”.

But that’s not the only reason you could take him seriously. The 19-year-old Mishra, or Mishraji as he likes to be called, has 40,000-odd people subscribing to his YouTube channel in just a year. But that’s not all. Some of his home-produced, expletive-laden videos – starring him expounding on subjects as varied as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expenditure on his foreign trips, women who misuse dowry laws (the video is his gift to women apparently), fraud Indian babas, traitorous journalists and even the SMS language teenagers are so fond of – have garnered views in lakhs.

There doesn’t seem to be a method in his madness, he dances to his own tune. And that tune certainly seems to resonate with India’s smartphone-equipped seething masses, many of whom seem to have lapped up each of his amateur productions.

The JNU connection

Mishra’s face was among the many images that flashed on the Jawaharlal Nehru University library’s website when it was hacked on February 16. The words “Toothpaste mein namak ho ya na ho, lekin khoon mein desh ka namak zaruri hai (It doesn’t matter if you have salt in your toothpaste, but you must have the salt of the nation in your blood)” appeared next to his photograph. This was a line from one of his videos in which he calls JNU students “h*********”, and terrorists.

Mishra studies engineering in Bhopal. He looks like any other young college student – earnest, bespectacled, hair combed neatly to one side, slight upper lip fuzz – till he opens his mouth and starts wagging his finger. His single motive is to “expose the truth”, he told Scroll.in. But don’t ask him if he does this for profit. He’s dedicated one of his productions to those who believe it’s easy to make money online. “It is not!” he yells in the video.

To say he is dramatic is an understatement. His video titles mostly include the words “exposed” or “ugly truth” in capital letters, and his Hindi monologues are delivered with flared nostrils and a fair amount of fist-shaking and finger pointing. His language, best described as Hindi belt street talk, is peppered with expletives. In one of his videos titled "Indian Terrorists JNU Students EXPOSED” – uploaded about a month ago when the Jawaharlal Nehru University saga had just started – he rants vigorously about “ungrateful Indian terrorists”. That video has grossed over 5 lakh views in about a month. Another video titled the “Real Face of Rajdeep Sardesai and Media Journalists on JNU”, posted on February 19, in which he said he would expose the reality of "gaddar" or traitorous journalists, has already got over 2 lakh views.

The lure of fame

Mishra got his first taste of fame when, in March 2015, he uploaded his first video, in which he said he attempted to expose how news channels used click bait tactics, aimed at generating advertising revenue, by posting news items about “adult content, sex and porn” on their social media profiles. “These channels do this after 10pm every night,” said Mishra. “In the afternoon they post news updates and come night time, it all becomes about Sunny Leone and sex. They should just change their names to Sex 24 channel”.

He claimed that some channels stopped this practice after his agitated critique went viral.

Since his debut last March, Mishra has produced 29 videos. His limited evolution as a video producer can be traced through the changing backgrounds in the frame. When he started out, clothes hanging from multiple hooks and a mattress or two on top of a wooden cupboard comprised the background. Mishra then graduated to a taped up brick red cardboard background, abandoning that finally for curtains. His appearance also changed accordingly – he’s visibly better groomed in his later videos.

Mishra’s rants have found many admirers as is evident from the comments under each video. “Well done bro. Keep on uploading the truth,” said one. Another said: “Thank you Abhishek for breaching this forbidden topic. Responsible people like you should take up this issue” These are just two of the over 3,000 comments that most of his videos get. Most are in support of whatever he has pontificated on.

Mishra is no stranger to abuse either. He has received threats to force him to take down his videos, and has battled the opinionated actor and self-proclaimed Bollywood critic Kamaal R Khan – who loves to court controversy too – on social media.

“Ab beta, tujhe bhi maine din mein tare na dikhaye toh main bhi Abhishek Mishra nahi hoon (You wait and watch. If I don’t destroy your reputation today then my name is not Abhishek Mishra),” he threatened in his attempted takedown of Khan.

In an interview, Mishra spoke of his journey so far.

What was the experience of first getting your videos off the ground?
Let me tell you one incident. When I uploaded my first YouTube video exposing the reality of Aaj Tak news channel, I got a phone call from someone threatening me with dire consequences if I didn’t take it off. I got scared. I didn’t remove it from YouTube, but I made it private and deleted it from Facebook. But it had already been shared widely and I was getting a lot of support from viewers, so I made it public again. Some people might not agree with my views, but it is okay. I don’t let it faze me.

How did you take on the responsibility of changing the wrongs in society?
I exposed Aaj Tak, how they were putting adult content instead of news to drive readers to their site. After the video touched 1,50,000 views, they stopped sharing such content. I tell my viewers to help poor people and I have received emails and messages from people telling me that they donated Rs 10,000 to a charity, or that they donated clothes, or food. I practice what I preach. I also do the same and I’m proud of myself as well as them for doing good work.
And yes! Not just on the Internet, I take responsibility to do whatever I can with whatever I have to help others.

How do you think you come across to your viewers? Do you feel you rub people up the wrong way?
Many who watch my videos message me on Facebook and Twitter, and many even come and meet me personally. They share their views on how I can improve. I ask them if I’m going in the right direction, and ask them for constructive criticism so that I can improve.
Sure, there are also those who have abused me, but then I have also seen many come to my defence. I must be doing something right. The truth is truth, nobody can change it. So what’s the issue in accepting that reality?

How would you describe the ideology you adhere to?
These lines by [Hindi poet] Dushyant Kumar jii are enough to explain!

”सिर्फ हंगामा खड़ा करना मेरा मकसद नहीं,
सारी कोशिश है कि ये सूरत बदलनी चाहिए।
मेरे सीने में नहीं तो तेरे सीने में सही,
हो कहीं भी आग, लेकिन आग जलनी चाहिए| “

My aim is not only to make noise,
my efforts are towards changing the face of the nation.
If not in my chest then in yours,
but the fire to bring about change must keep burning.

You have spoken out against many issues related to governance, but what according to you is working?
The Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and Foreign Direct Investments are two things that are working for this country.