EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Jaz Saini and Harjit Bhandal of YouTwoTV
Last month we had to opportunity to sit down with Jaz and Harjit of YouTwoTV to basically talk about everything. The duo were both working behind the scenes in film and social media before they realized they hated working for other people and wanted to create something of their own. Harjit talked about how he basically learned everything about film from Youtube while Jaz studied marketing where she learned about social media. They both had their own individual channels and eventually joined forces. Jaz talked about how the channel came to fruition.
"I met Harjit and we were both vlogging at the same time and we were vlogging the same exact thing. I noticed it was pointless and that's when we realized - we always spend so much time together anyway there's no Indian brown couples on Youtube - Let's do it!
The couple has been dating now for about 2 and a half years. They met in February of 2015 on set. Harjit talked about the first time he was introduced to Jaz where he was filming and Jaz was assisting.
Harjit: The first time we were on set together, I didn't even say hi to her, I just treated her as an assistant. So I was like Jaz, I need this - I need that.
Jaz: My only thought of him was that he was mad quiet. I didn't think anything of him. Like at all. No thought. It wasn't like oh he's cute or anything.
Together: No attraction. Like nothing.
This was then followed by intense laughter.
Jaz: Fast forward two months and we were both going to India together for a project and there was still nothing. We sat beside each other on the plane and he was not having it.
Harjit: But then when we were in India, we only had each other, and we were forced to be friends.
When asked what the biggest challenges to maintain their channels were?
Jaz: I think just like being creative and trying to keep up with Youtube because it keeps changing. Just the balance of actually being creative and putting out good content and being consistent.
Harjit: Now Youtube has all these restrictions and we had to PG a lot of our videos.
Jaz: When we first started we weren't PG at all and I think that's why people liked us.
Both Harjit and Jazz expressed their views recently that they weren't happy with the content they were making and they had to take some time off to reflect and strategize how they were going to move forward with their channels.
Harjit: It's been a struggle.
Jaz: We kind of had a mental breakdown.
Harjit: Since the beginning, we released a video every week and sometimes twice a week, until now. We weren't happy with what was happening. We had to be PG for no reason.
Jaz: It was weird - some videos we weren't putting effort into were getting more views than some videos that we really cared about - that we put our heart and soul into. We were really confused, but now I think we took a step back and realized what we liked and we're going to be showing a different side of us on Youtube.
Harjit: We're just going to make content that makes us happy. We want to take more times with our projects.
Both Jaz and Harjit expressed that their creativity doesn't stop at the channel. Getting into as many different artistic avenues is definitely the end goal for the duo..
Jaz: We definitely want to grow our channel and we want to continue to do our skits. Acting and writing scripts is on my list.
Harjit: Touring is something we want to do. We have a live show already planned out and we'd love to meet our fans.
Are there struggles with being brown and being on the internet?
Jaz: There are definitely struggles. People don't always just naturally gravitate toward South-Asian people. They want to see the Logan Pauls and Jake Pauls of the world , but there are positives- when brown viewers see us, we get so much love - because we're like them. Breaking down barriers is something we definitely strive for. There are positives and negatives.
Harjit: One of our main focuses is to to try to show that brown people are like everyone else by just being ourselves. We're not trying to preach it.
I asked Jaz and Harjit about their videos and being so open and transparent. They talk about a variety of issues and topics. Taboo topics that the Indian community usually shys away from.
Jaz: At fist it was hard.
Harjit: Family members that were so distant would call and comment on what I did online. It was really annoying, but thankfully my family was more cool about it.
Jaz: A lot of my family members weren't sure about the whole thing and would comment. Once they saw that we were on the newspaper or TV and got an award - it all switched up very quickly. Thankfully we also have really supportive viewers that DM us things that inspire us.
Jaz ended up talking about the many positive responses they get from their viewers. They would send messages letting the duo know that their videos helped other South-Asian viewers gain the confidence to tell their parents they were dating and even showing their videos to their parent to show how normal it is.
Jaz: At the end of every video, we always say, "Stay true to you, and stop giving a fuck"
Harjit: That stems from the beginning when no one cared. People would say stop doing this and go get a normal job.
Jaz: People we knew weren't supporting us and we realized we have to stop caring about what other people think. We believe in ourselves and that's all that matters. We try to reiterate that to our fans because we know that sometimes no one is going to believe in you - but if you believe in you - that's all you need.
Hearing Jaz and Harjit's story was truly inspiring. Their positivity and strive to make a difference while breaking the mold and barriers is exactly why we wanted to get an in dept interview. Make sure you check out their channels and follow them on all their social media accounts. We're excited to see our brother and sister excel and continue to make a difference.
INSTAGRAM: @youtwotv @sincerelyxjaz @whoisharjit
TWITTER: @itsyoutwo
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/youtwotv/
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