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Odia digital creator

Dhiraj Takri

About Dhiraj Takri

Dhiraj Takri is an Instagram creator from Chitrakote village in Nabarangpur district, Odisha. He teaches spoken English with an American accent through short videos. Despite failing his Class 12 exams and working with very basic phones, he gained a million Instagram followers in about six weeks around the turn of 2024.

Early life

Takri grew up in Chitrakote in Nabarangpur district and studied at a village government school up to Class 10. He then went to an intermediate college in a nearby town, where he failed the Class 12 examination. His family had little money. The Better India reported that his father repaired bicycles and his mother sold bangles in nearby villages, while The Navhind Times wrote that his father sold wood and his mother was a homemaker. His elder brother runs a local common services centre.

After Class 12 he spent about a year at a Christian theological training institute in Thiruvalla, Kerala, where he began learning English. The COVID-19 lockdown cut his time there short, and he spent 2020 back in his village. In 2021 he moved to Lucknow for theological study and church work and stayed there until October 2023.

Online career

Takri learned to speak English with an American accent largely from online videos. He recorded himself copying native speakers every day and compared the recordings with the originals. He started making Instagram reels in August 2023 and was posting one a day by November. He used a cheap Panasonic phone and later a Motorola handset with a broken screen. At first his videos drew trolling, but KalingaTV noted in January 2024 that negative comments had become hard to find.

His reels focus on informal spoken English, such as running words together and silent letters, and use clips from films and TV series to demonstrate. A reel on the silent 'd', posted on 7 December 2023 when he had about 160 followers, was his first to go viral. As reported by The Better India in January 2024, he reached one million Instagram followers on 20 January 2024, about 44 days later. One reel was later reported to have drawn 28 million views. His profile slogan is 'Speak English like natives, without moving abroad', and he is also active on YouTube and Facebook. In September 2026 Odisha Bytes included him in its list of the top ten social media creators from Odisha.

References

  1. KalingaTV – Meet Dhiraj Takri, Odisha's 12th Fail boy going viral for teaching Englishkalingatv.com
  2. The Better India – Why This Inspiring '12th Fail' Has a Million Followers on Instagram (Jan 2024)thebetterindia.com
  3. The Better India – Dhiraj Takri video feature (Jul 2024)thebetterindia.com
  4. The Navhind Times (Kuriocity) – Instagram's new English teacher, 21-year-old Dhiraj Takrinavhindtimes.in
  5. Odisha Bytes – Check Out The Top 10 Social Media Influencers, Creators From Odishaodishabytes.com