LITTLE BIG CELEBS

THESE KIDS ARE THE NEW STARS IN THE INDIAN DIGITAL-INFLUENCER LANDSCAPE. WHILE BEING IN THE LIMELIGHT IS FINANCIALLY REWARDING, CONCERNS ABOUT THEIR PRIVACY ABOUND

- NIRMAL JOVIAL

What was the greatest thing you did as a six-year-old? To steal a popsicle from the refrigerator without getting caught? Ask the same question to Nihal Raj aka Little Chef Kicha, and he would say that he took his entire family on a trip to the United States—to one of the Hilton hotels, to Universal Studios, and the Ellen DeGeneres Show. All this happened because he had tried his hand at making popsicles—instead of stealing them—at four, and shared that experience with the world.

Kicha, who hails from Kochi, rose to fame in 2016, when he was six, after Facebook brought the rights to one of his cooking videos on YouTube—How to make Mickey Mouse mango ice cream—for $2,000. Subsequently, he was invited to the Ellen Show as a guest in the same year. Dressed in a wee apron and chef’s cap, Kicha showed Ellen how to cook puttu, a south Indian dish made of steamed rice flour and grated coconut. And, in the last four years, the child prodigy has established himself as one of the top kid influencers—who has the power to influence the purchasing decisions of his peers—in the country.