There is something particularly interesting about speaking to someone who has built a career around food and then hearing them talk about Instagram in terms of soul, impact and authenticity. My conversation with Chef Vikas Khanna was one of those interviews where I found myself thinking about the platform quite differently by the time we were done. Vikas is part of the jury for Instagram Rings this year, Instagram’s award that celebrates creators who are willing to take creative chances, bring people together and create in their own way. The award is not about a particular genre of content or simply about numbers. It is about the spirit behind the work and the impact it has on people.
Last year, Dolly Singh was the Indian creator to receive Instagram Rings. This year, Vikas will be among the jury members deciding which creators deserve that recognition, making his views on authenticity particularly interesting. When I asked him what makes a creator’s work memorable beyond followers, views and reach, his answer was immediate.
“Impact.”
For Vikas, that impact comes from something that technology cannot manufacture.
“Because of the cameras and AI and tools, you can make beautiful videos. But to create something, you need to have some soul in it.”
That one line pretty much set the tone for our conversation.
What does authenticity actually look like on Instagram?
For Vikas, authenticity is not about producing imperfect content simply for the sake of appearing real. It comes from being genuinely yourself and allowing that person to come through in your work.
He told me about a Reel he had seen recently about the last phone call you can make. It stayed with him enough for him to share it on his own Instagram Stories. There was no elaborate production behind the impact. It simply made him think.
{{/usCountry}}He told me about a Reel he had seen recently about the last phone call you can make. It stayed with him enough for him to share it on his own Instagram Stories. There was no elaborate production behind the impact. It simply made him think.
{{/usCountry}}And that, he says, is what matters. “I just feel that somehow when people watch this, it makes them think or makes them get better. In doing something, it could be anything. But I feel that in overhyped, over-synchronised videos, ours do not work.”
It is an interesting thought at a time when creators have access to more tools than ever before. The technology can make a video look polished, but polish alone does not make people care.
For Vikas, the person behind the content still matters most. “The video does not have to be perfect. It just has to be authentic.”
That became one of my favourite takeaways from our conversation because it is such a simple idea, yet probably one of the hardest things to practise on a platform driven by trends, algorithms and constant comparison.
Vikas Khanna on what he will look for as an Instagram Rings jury member
Beyond follower counts and reach, what makes a creator’s work memorable to you?
Vikas Khanna: Impact. Because of the cameras, AI and tools, you can make beautiful videos. But to create something, you need to have some soul in it. For me, that is what matters.
Authenticity is becoming increasingly important on social media. What does authentic storytelling mean to you?
Vikas Khanna: I feel that authenticity cannot be removed from the self. It comes from being yourself. Even if that means you are not your perfect self.
I saw a Reel recently about the last phone call you can make, and it really stayed with me. I put it on my Story because it made me think. That is impact for me. When people watch something and it makes them think or makes them want to do something better, that is meaningful. A video does not have to be perfect. It just has to be authentic. Many of the creators you will see this year are very real.
You have also spoken about being yourself through your work at Bungalow. When you take Indian food and culture to a global audience, has your understanding of authenticity changed?
Vikas Khanna: Not really. This is a very different space for me. I only use Instagram for the restaurant, and I wanted to be extremely myself when I announced Bungalow. We announced the restaurant 50 days in advance by talking about how it would have been my sister’s 50th birthday and how I did not want her to be alone on that day. A lot of PR companies told me it was the worst idea they had ever heard. I was told that nobody wanted to hear brown people’s stories and that I should simply show two or three dishes. I said no. This restaurant comes after a lot of pain and a lot of long journeys. It represents a civilisational cuisine, and I wanted to tell that story. I did not want to seek validation 24 hours a day. I wanted the idea to be important. And that idea became so important that a restaurant without a PR company could open in Manhattan and, three years later, it is still extremely difficult to book a table because people are coming for an authentic experience, not something that is completely staged.
So is that what you are looking for when you assess creators for Instagram Rings?
Vikas Khanna: Absolutely. Look at what we are doing at Bungalow. One day we might bring green bananas from Chennai. Another day there could be Mogra from Bombay because Navratri is starting. Every day there can be different dances to honour different goddesses. We tell the story, and we tell the story of the Prasad. Which restaurant can do that?
It came from a very deep sense of authenticity on Instagram. We started something called Celebrating India, where every week we celebrate one part of India. We have crossed more than two billion views since we started. What is working today? Not just staged food content. It takes a lot of effort, time and money to tell these stories, but there is an audience that wants to hear them.
You have also spoken about connecting younger audiences with Indian culture. How important is that connection to you?
Vikas Khanna: I can promise you, when I talk about this on Instagram, there is a whole new idea going to younger generations about being connected to what a country is. After grandparents, we are all learning that. It has become difficult to continue cultural activities at home because everybody is so divided. Bungalow brought the entire country and many different parts of the world under one thought. Authenticity was the answer. And that is what I am looking for right now.
So, what will make this year’s Instagram Rings winner special?
That was the question I kept coming back to after our conversation. There is clearly a temptation on Instagram to chase the next trend, polish every frame and create content based on what the algorithm seems to favour. Vikas’s approach is almost the opposite. He is interested in the person behind the content and in the reason they are creating it in the first place.
His own experience with Bungalow makes that argument particularly convincing. He did not follow the conventional advice he was given. Instead, he told a personal story, brought Indian culture into the conversation and built a restaurant identity around something that was deeply connected to who he is. That seems to be the heart of Instagram Rings too.
It is not simply about who has the biggest audience. It is about creators who have something of their own to say, who can make people feel something and who are willing to put that version of themselves out there. And that brings me back to why I enjoyed this conversation with Vikas so much. I went in wanting to understand what he would look for as a jury member. I came away thinking more about what makes us stop scrolling in the first place.
For me, the most interesting Instagram creators have always been the ones who feel like real people rather than perfectly packaged versions of themselves. That is also how I like to approach Instagram. So yes, I cannot wait to see whom Vikas Khanna selects this year. If this conversation is anything to go by, his choices are going to give us a fascinating masterclass in authenticity, creativity and the kind of content that actually stays with you.
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