Tiktok stars rue loss their creative platform

Ranchi: The ban on 59

Chinese

apps announced by the Centre on June 29 came as a surprise for many, but users of entertainment platform TikTok seem to be the worst affected of the lot.

While opinions are varied, and hopes of the app returning in some form run high, most users of this platform are confused about what happens to all the content that they created and posed on the app in the past, especially amid the lockdown when it proved to be a creative outlet for many.

Hailing from the small village of Kushmatand in Dhanbad, TikTok sensation Sanatan Kumar Mahato, who shot into limelight for his old school Bollywood dance choreographies, said he invested more than 18 months to the platform. His TikTok handle @DancerSanatan has around 27 lakh followers and was set to hit the 30 lakh.

Mahato said, “My journey with TikTok is a testimony to the fact that such platforms can do wonders for artists like us. My YouTube channel has 2.2 lakh subscribers, but my popularity on TikTok is significantly higher. It is because of this app that O could make videos in collaboration with stalwarts like Ganesh Acharya. I was eagerly looking at dance as a fulltime career option.

Adding that his father, a folk Jhumar dancer, never had the ooportunity to make use of platforms like this, the 25-year-old Mahato said, “I upset many people around me by encouraging my younger sister to dance with me. It is still a taboo in the village I come from. All of it has come to a screeching halt for me.”

The million-hit internet star might be just one of the bigger victims of the ban, but regular users also said they will miss the platform.

Anamika Paswan, a nursing graduate from Ranchi’s Chutia locality, said the app helped her reconnect with her artistic. “I don’t want to comment on whether it (the decision to ban the app) is right or wrong. The only thing I am concerned about is how dependent I am on the platform for my daily fix of entertainment,” she said.

A regular TikTok user with a modest count of 9,500 followers, Paswan said she hopes the ban is temporary like the last time. “But if it continues, I might have to find a new platform to keep myself engaged,” she added.

Since its launch, TikTok has been embroiled in controversies regarding content and security concerns. However, the ByteDance-owned app emerged as one of the most popular in the country, especially among non-English speaking creators and audiences. After drawing flak, the app even partnered with academicians, NGOs and even law enforcement agencies.

Although the app has been pulled from Google’s Play store and Apple’s App Store in India, the users who already have it on their phones could use it as of Tuesday evening.

Meanwhile, there are many who supported the Centre’s decision to ban the app with 58 others. Mass communication post-graduate Nidhi Kumari was addicted to TikTok until a few days ago, but she moved to Roposo, a similar short video sharing app with

Indian

roots, after the people’s sentiments against Chinese products started making headlines in the aftermath of the martyrdom of 20 soldiers in Ladakh’s Galwan valley.

A Ranchi University graduate, Nidhi said, “I loved TikTok, but my nation’s integrity is far more important for me than my personal entertainment. Although I am fairly new to Roposo, I believe making a small change for a greater cause is the need of the hour.”

Following the ban, the app was removed from Google Play store and Apple App store. However, for users who already have the app, its content is still available and videos can still be posted. In response to the government decision, TikTok said it has been invited to meet with government stakeholders for an opportunity to respond and submit clarifications.


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