Apoorva Mukhija Faces Backlash For Calling Bengaluru ‘Soulless’

Social media personality Apoorva Mukhija, who goes by the nickname The Rebel Kid on Instagram, is in serious trouble for what she said regarding Bengaluru. The outrage arose after her statement from a previous interview went viral on social media, fueling the criticism that she was getting for her comments on Samay Raina’s show, India’s Got Latent.

Mukhija, a guest on the show with Ranveer Allahbadia, Ashish Chanchlani, Samay Raina, and Jaspreet Bumrah, has been the target of anger after the episode. During the ongoing backlash, her previous comments regarding Bengaluru have attracted new criticism.

‘That City Has No Soul’

During an October 2024 interview with content creator Ayush Wadhwa, the 23-year-old influencer spoke candidly about her experience in Bengaluru, where she resided after college while employed at Dell. She was highly critical of her experience, unfavorably comparing the city to Mumbai.

“I detested, hated living in that city,” she said to Wadhwa. “I one hundred percent, really, really believe that that city has no soul. That city really has no soul.”

She also criticized Bengaluru’s culture, saying it was not creative like Mumbai. “Bangalore mein har kisi ko dhanda banana hai, which is a vibe I never vibed with… Bangalore mein, everyone is working 14 hours in a startup. Or they are doing 9 to 5,” she said.

Mukhija too expressed her aggravation at the language issue, especially with the autorickshaw drivers. “Autowallah tumse baat nahi kar raha kyunki tumhe Kannada nahi aati. Brother I’ll pay you, why are you not talking to me?” she exclaimed, fuming.

Social Media Reactions

The recent resurrection of this video again fueled the Kannada language controversy and contributed to the tempest over her India’s Got Latent issue, which recently got her summoned to Mumbai Police.

Her comments generated a flood of outrage on social media, with users rallying to Bengaluru’s defense. “Bengaluru has no soul? Seriously? I lived in that city for 4 years, and it is one of the nicest cities with nicest people there,” X user Ankit Uttam rebutted.

User Bharat scolded what he perceives as a double standard: “Double standards at their finest—hate speech gets a pass for fame.”

But some concurred with some points of her comment. “I don’t quite agree with her, but she is right about rude auto drivers. Mumbai auto drivers are far better than Bangalore auto guys,” one of them said.

The controversy rages on, while Mukhija is at the center of a social media firestorm, as people are strongly divided in opinion regarding her remarks.