It’s true, if you can imagine it, it exists somewhere on the internet. Even if “it” means satisfying your curiosity about what Hitler might say about topics that trend on prime time news in our country. Thanks to Youtube and dedicated fans of all shades and stripes, Hitler can be seen commenting on just about every topic under the sun.
“Hitler reacts to…” is a Youtube phenomenon in which users subtitle a key scene of the German film Der Untergang, Downfall, (in which Hitler berates his senior officers for failing in the war against the Allies), to talk about just about anything that catches their fancy.
In the past, Hitler has reacted to a variety of events, from the launch of the iPad to Usain Bolt’s breaking the 100m world record to even finding out that the Pokemon are not real and that he was not selected to go to Hogwarts.
And in the last two years, this phenomenon has caught on in India too. Thus, for instance, you can watch Hitler react to the series of tweets by Vijay Mallya after he had left the country, and hear him make such interesting observations on Mallya as, “He made his money on beer that was better than Hayward 5000 and Knockout. Anybody could have done that.”
Or you can watch Hitler take a shot at Airtel for violating net neutrality with Airtel Zero. “My ringtone is AR Rahman’s Airtel Song. My dog looks like the Vodafone pug. And I am enrolled in IIN… And now you’re telling me all telcos want to violate net neutrality?” he complains.
But it isn’t just trending news topics that Hitler comments on. He’s also got a rant or two in store for all those things you’ve sat around with alcohol and cribbed about on a Saturday night. In one video, for instance, he talks about going from dreams of a college life like Shah Rukh Khan’s in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai to realizing the misery of the everyday in an engineering college.
And to top it off, he’s just found out that “mass recruiters” like TCS and Infosys are not coming to his college. All he can do is ask his friends, “Do you feel the pressure of being the only journalist in your colony who is not placed after four years, not even in TCS or Infosys?... I hate it when my friends update their status about getting placed with #placed!”
And then there’s that other great bane in Indian students’ lives, the UPSC exam. Finding out that he has not qualified despite a “great” interview, Hitler says of civil services preparations: “I should not have left my job. I was enjoying my life, boozing and having fun there. And now look at me in Mukherjee Nagar struggling with this garbage… between Batra, prelims, mains and interview… all I want is my life back.
Of course, as with all user content, the results of the many Hitler videos vary and viewers are advised discretion in watching any of them. However, if you find any of the content problematic, there’s a simple solution. With some creative subtitling, you could just get Hitler to say what you want next time!