The vibrant digital revolution in Tulsi village, once hailed as the first YouTuber village of India, has come to a grinding halt as content creators abandon their cameras for traditional labour.
Located roughly 45 kilometres from Raipur, Chhattisgarh, the village that once buzzed with film crews and viral skit production is now experiencing a mass exodus of talent.
The HamarFlix Studio, a 25 lakh high-tech facility established by the district administration in 2023 to bridge the digital divide, currently sits locked with its equipment unused.
The downfall of the local creator economy, which at its peak involved nearly 40% of the village’s 4,000 residents, stems from a combination of internal disputes, declining revenue, and a lack of institutional maintenance.
Gyanendra Shukla and Jay Verma, the founders of the Being Chhattisgarhiya YouTube channel who sparked the movement in 2018, noted that while the village gained national fame, it also brought about intense local friction.
Varma revealed that as the village became a hub, personal ego clashes and disagreements over revenue sharing began to fracture the collaborative spirit that once defined the community.
Aspiring creators in the region are now facing the harsh reality of the “Attention Economy,” where consistent growth is required to maintain a sustainable CPM.
Without professional management or a clear path to monetisation beyond local fame, many creators have seen their views plummet.
This has forced former digital stars like Dagesh Verma, who once appeared in dozens of viral videos, to seek employment in nearby factories or as drivers to support their families.
The local government’s attempt to institutionalise the village’s success through the Humer Flix Studio has also faltered. While the studio was initially equipped with DSLRs, drones, and professional editing suites, residents claim the facility has been neglected for over a year.
Gulab Chand Adil, the current village Sarpanch (village head), confirmed that the studio has remained closed as creators have shifted to cities like Mumbai or Raipur in search of better infrastructure and more stable professional opportunities.
The decline of Tulsi serves as a cautionary tale for the burgeoning creator economy in rural India. Despite having over 1.15 lakh subscribers on its flagship channel and dozens of smaller active creators, the village could not sustain its digital ecosystem against the pull of urban migration.
The lack of a long-term roadmap for digital entrepreneurship has left the “YouTuber Village” as a quiet reminder of how fleeting social media fame can be without structural support.
