The latest prank exploding on social media involves video-calling a loved one and turning the camera to face a YouTube clip of a desi man. The person on the other end is understandably confused on encountering a stranger, not realising that they are being pranked by a friend or family member. Some react with confusion, others with horror. Nearly all burst out laughing when they figure out that they were pranked.
A video call prank playing a desi man's face for laughs has divided opinion online.
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The video call prank has been played thousands of times on unsuspecting family members for social media fame. On TikTok, videos of the prank have reached millions of people, collecting billions of ‘views’ and ‘likes’ in the process. On Instagram too, videos of the prank have become increasingly popular.
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Funny or racist?
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However, not everyone thinks the prank is funny. Some have raised concerns about its racist overtones - it does, after all, use a video of an Indian or Indian-looking man for laughs, likely without his consent or knowledge.
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However, not everyone thinks the prank is funny. Some have raised concerns about its racist overtones - it does, after all, use a video of an Indian or Indian-looking man for laughs, likely without his consent or knowledge.
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One particular video which shows a young woman pranking her mother with the video clip has reached 11 million views on X (formerly Twitter), where many criticised the prank as racist and dehumanizing.
“This ‘trend’ is heavily racist,” wrote one X user. “This is so racist, I don’t get how it has become a trend in big big 2025,” another wrote.
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Some X users pointed out how the prank was predominantly being played by white girls on TikTok.
“I want to be light hearted and like this trend but it being a Black man with so many white girls participating feels gross,” wrote one X user. “Not to be that friend that’s ‘too woke’ but am I the only one that doesn’t think it’s funny prank or not to joke about People of Colour being predators,” another person opined.
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A TikTok user (@blondejeff) called it “dehumanizing” to play a man’s face for a punchline. “It just exposes another aspect of how indigenous people are always vilified,” he said.
Sanya Jain is an Assistant Editor with Hindustan Times Digital. She has nearly a decade of experience in covering offbeat stories that speak to the everyday experience - from viral videos to human interest copies that spark conversation. Her interests stretch across business, pop culture, social media trends, entertainment and global affairs. Before joining Hindustan Times, Sanya spent two years with Moneycontrol and five years with NDTV. She holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from St Stephen’s College, Delhi, and a master’s in journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications, Mumbai. Sanya has a sharp eye for spotting emerging trends and looking for newsworthy angles to elevate viral posts into meaningful narratives. She was the first one, for example, to cover Narayana Murthy’s remark on 70-hour work weeks that sparked a national conversation. She is equally at ease writing about business leaders as about the common man, about issues of national importance and memes that amuse social media. Sanya enjoys speaking with content creators, newsmakers and entrepreneurs to transform everyday moments into engaging, slice-of-life stories that resonate with readers. When she is not working, Sanya can be found curled up with a good book. Born and raised in Lucknow, she has spent the last several years in Delhi. She is deeply interested in animal welfare and now spends a lot of her time running after her destructive orange cat.
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Home/Trending/Funny or racist? Viral video call prank uses desi man’s clip, divides opinion
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