German influencer and content creator Younes Zarou is currently on his first trip to India, and in an exclusive shoot with HT City, he reflects on his time in the country. “The plan was to stay for two weeks, but it has been over a month now and I still don’t want to leave,” he says, informing that he has visited Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kerala, Hyderabad and Bangalore during his trip.
Younes feels a connection between his content and India. “My content is colourful and that has got me viral. India is also very colourful and it even has a festival for it, Holi,” he says, adding that he got fans in India through Tik Tok in 2020, and since then, the following has just grown: “My goal was to come here and show the beauty of India to the world. But I didn’t expect it to be so big. When I came to India, I had 9.6 million followers on Instagram and today, it has crossed 15 million. While I am happy to be in India, I can feel that the Indians are also happy to have me here. That is a good fit and I feel comfortable in India, it feels like home. I would love to stay here much longer.”
While it has been an adventurous trip in the country for the German, he even has had an encounter with the cops. “I was there in Bengaluru and we were shooting in a very crowded street. The people recognised me and were pulling me, asking for photos. It got too much, and the cops came. They took me to the police station, and I got into some problem, but luckily there were some people there who explained to the cops who I was. In retrospect, it was a funny story that I would tell my kids someday,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}While it has been an adventurous trip in the country for the German, he even has had an encounter with the cops. “I was there in Bengaluru and we were shooting in a very crowded street. The people recognised me and were pulling me, asking for photos. It got too much, and the cops came. They took me to the police station, and I got into some problem, but luckily there were some people there who explained to the cops who I was. In retrospect, it was a funny story that I would tell my kids someday,” he shares.
{{/usCountry}}Ask him about his stint with Indian food and he shares that while he tried a lot of local delicacies, he doesn’t remember the names of the dishes. “However, I do remember eating chicken biryani in Hyderabad and loving it. A lot of people told me to try it, and I went to Hyderabad just for that,” he jokes.
Younes also has a deep love for Bollywood, especially for actor Shah Rukh Khan. “In Europe, people love Bollywood and Shah Rukh Khan. When I was a kid, we would have family get-togethers, and all my cousin sisters would go gaga over Shah Rukh Khan. They would be crying seeing his films and even I watched his films through them,” he shares, adding that he fell in love with Khan after getting to know his life story. “There are a lot of Bollywood stars who are popular globally, but I like the history of Shah Rukh Khan and how he became a star. He came from a humble background and through his talent, he showed the world what he is made of. He came from nothing and now he is on the top and I love him. Maybe one day, we will meet,” he says.
While he still awaits meeting SRK, Younes did meet actor Tiger Shroff, and he is all praise for him. “Tiger is a very nice and kind person. I didn’t know anyone could do action and stunts like the way he does. We met because of our mutual love for football and even played together. If I did anything good on the field, he would cheer for me. I also met (rapper) Hanumankind, and he is so smart and grounded,” the German shares, revealing if he plans to act in Bollywood. “When I was younger, one of my dreams was to become an actor, so why not? If you can dream it, you can do it. Maybe soon, you might see me in a Bollywood movie,” he ends.