From CAA to JNU, Nazma Aapi Adresses Social Issues with Her Videos

Meet 20-year-old Saloni Gaur, the Delhi University student behind the viral character Nazma Aapa.

Saloni Gaur is the girl behind the viral character Nazma Aapi. 

(Photo: The Quint/Kamran Akhter) 

You must have seen her videos on social media – 20-year-old Saloni Gaur makes videos on social issues. Her viral character ‘Nazma Aapi’ is known for her social views on issues ranging from CAA to Shaheen Bagh to JNU violence to Delhi Police – she covers it all.

The first time Nazma Aapi went viral was in Novemeber last year with her video on Delhi pollution.

Saloni is from Bulandshahr and is a student of Political Science and Economics at Delhi University. Her ability to speak on current affairs with a humorous twist is what resonates with the audience.

With 30k followers on Twitter and more than 27k on Instagram, Saloni’s popularity is growing with each passing day.

Talking to The Quint about how it all began she said,

“In 2017, my parents got me a phone and I got an Internet connection. Earlier, too, I had ideas but there wasn’t any medium. When I got oneI started posting things online.”

A year-and-a-half previously, for Eid, Saloni decided to come up with a Muslim lady’s character and that’s how Nazma Aapi came about.

“About a year and a half ago, for Eid, I had an idea. I decided to play a Muslim lady’s character. I went to Old Delhi, I heard the locals talk. Most people, not all, speak in a particular lingo. I picked up some of the key words. Like, <i>‘abe bahiyye’, ‘mehelle’, ‘phoon’</i>. The say phone as <i>‘phoon’. </i>So, these small, small things I picked up and started making videos. Which people also liked. Last November, my video got viral and people discovered Nazma Aapi.”

Saloni Gaur aka Nazma Aapi