Abhishek Asthana, 34, is one of a growing number of young, industrious 'New Indians' (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
EXCLUSIVE: There are no limits to ambition in the capitalist 'New India', a leading entrepreneur and social media star told the Daily Express.
Abhishek Asthana, 34, is one of the growing number of young, industrious 'New Indians' blazing a trail in the subcontinent and setting a new standard for those who follow.
The social media superstar and entrepreneur is a household name thanks to his online alias “Gabbar Singh”.
The Express caught him in the up-and-coming Delhi suburb of Gurgaon, where he lives with his wife and their young daughter.
Posts under the handle @GabbbarSinghAbhishek has built a huge – and, crucially, highly engaged – following on X (formerly Twitter).
His messages are based on pop culture and popular themes and are even featured in Indian print media.
Gabbar Singh is a classic Bollywood villain ubiquitous in many Indian childhoods. Abhishek uses the character in his work to draw on powerful feelings of nostalgia.
The @GabbbarSingh account now has 1.5 million followers, making it a lucrative venture for Abhishek, who also runs a creative agency with clients like Amazon Prime and Durex.
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The Express met Abhishek in Delhi's emerging suburb of Gurgaon (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
“It was actually an accident,” he says during a conversation poolside in his posh apartment complex. “I was trying to launch a funny blog, so I created accounts for some characters and Gabbar was one of them.
“I ended up deleting all the others but kept this one and this one started going viral with its posts.
“And it was then my roommate came up to me one day and said, 'Have you heard of this story?' That's when I knew I was on to something.”
But the successful businessman, from the city of Lucknow in eastern India, was not raised with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He said: “I was born in one of the poorest parts of the country. The per capita income would still be the same as that of Somalia in Africa.
“There are no opportunities.”
He further highlighted that it was common in that part of India to see huge billboards advertising the way to 'come out' with the help of coaching and classes to qualify for exams.
He said: 'So people like me would study hard and go to good universities to get a job in better cities.'
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“I know some young people who are 28 and have companies valued at $200 million.” (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
The ultimate goal for ambitious young Indians was to do just that bring prosperity to their parentsAbhishek explained.
He said: “And that's the curve I've been following. In 2010 I worked for Samsung and my first salary was already higher than my father's.”
Abhishek said this period was a new “91 moment” for India.
In 1991, the country opened up to free-market capitalism and moved away from a socialist economy.
He said: 'Before '91 there was no competition because most goods were produced by the government and you could only get one brand per product.
“And I would say that 2014 was another '91 moment for India because in the following years, business was democratized and starting your own business was made easy.”
Abhishek praised the massive rollout of digital infrastructure to provide widespread access to cheap mobile data, as well as physical infrastructure like highways to get Indians moving.
There was also a massive removal of barriers to doing business, Abhishek said, and unnecessary red tape was removed.
The Express sat down for a chat by the pool at Abhishek's posh apartment complex (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
Abhishek said this post-2014 period was a new “91 moment” for India (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
He said, “I didn't even have to leave my house to start my business or visit a single government office.”
Bollywood culture used to demonize businesspeople, Abhishek explains.
He said: “In films of the time, it was assumed that if someone was a businessman, he must be an evil crook. He has to steal money and taxes.
“Now the businessmen are the heroes. Rewarding merit is common sense.”
There was a newfound respect for wealth creators in India, Abhishek said in a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi beginning to advocate entrepreneurship more openly on social media.
The rise of the internet in India made it easy for Abhishek to previously set up his own business remotely Covid struck and popularized the practice.
He also explained that he had registered a start-up called 'Hood', an anonymous social media network.
He said: “We just had a logo and an idea on paper. We didn't even have a product as such.
“We went to market and within a month we raised $3.2 million (£2.5 million).
“It took me 35 minutes to convince one investor to commit a million dollars.
“And that is the power of New India.”
Abhishek is a standard bearer of the 'New India' he describes (Image: ANDY COMMINS)
Abhishek is a standard bearer of 'New India' and all that it represents, with his bold spirit of free enterprise and ambition.
Previous views about capitalism and its negative earnings began to change in the minds of New India's “new working class,” Abhishek said.
These fresh faces were now competing with each other. He said: “Everyone is putting their best foot forward. There is no sense of complacency.
“I'm sitting here talking to you and I feel like an impostor because there are so many people who have achieved much more than me at a young age.
“I know some young people who are 28 and have companies valued at $200 million.”
India still has a lot to do in terms of economic development, Abhishek admitted.
But he didn't necessarily see this as a bad thing, as it meant there was still huge potential for growth.
To illustrate his point, he explained that about 13%-14% of Indians belong to what he called the “consumer class”.
The rest depend on the government for help in one way or another.
But it is young entrepreneurs like Abhishek who are pushing India to new heights lift those people to prosperity every minute.
The statistic also shows that India has still not reached its potential, Abhishek said: “Imagine that with this 13% consumer class, we are still the fifth largest economy in the world.”
The story of New India is one of dynamism and ambition.
And the seemingly unstoppable rise now seems all but inevitable.
It's time for countries in the West – and Britain in particular – to take note.