Cover Orry wearing his dandelion earrings that intrigued Rihanna at the Ambani wedding last year (Photo: courtesy of Dinesh Ahuja / Orhan Awatramani)
Orry wearing his dandelion earrings that intrigued Rihanna at the Ambani wedding last year (Photo: courtesy of Dinesh Ahuja / Orhan Awatramani)
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From attending Bollywood parties to lending his earrings to Rihanna, everything Orry does becomes viral. In this exclusive interview with Tatler, India’s most famous internet sensation reveals the method behind what many perceive as madness
On a sunny afternoon in Mumbai, Tatler sat down with Indian internet sensation Orhan Awatramani—better known as Orry—at his family home for an exclusive interview. His rise to social media stardom has been meteoric, solidifying his status as Bollywood’s most captivating social butterfly, both online and offline.
In a time where influence is often manufactured, Orry represents something unique—an authentic persona that has shaped up from a carefully curated performance. He describes himself as “working on myself”, but has mastered the art of being famous for being famous, turning it into both an art form and a successful career. In this candid conversation, he reveals the method behind what many perceive as madness and how his international upbringing shaped his approach to fame and friendship in Bollywood’s inner circle.
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Tell us about the beginnings of your journey.
It’s been a series of very nice, sunlit events. My mother would say since I was young that she “always saw a little light in Orry”. I was a middle kid with older and younger brothers. Usually, the middle kid’s the one who’s overlooked, but I was honestly the spotlit middle child. I’ve been around—I was in Cathedral School [The Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai], then went to boarding school in Kodaikanal, then to New York for many years, then moved back to Mumbai, then London.
How did your international background influence your interactions in Bollywood and the way you started getting noticed at parties?
If you can make it even a little in New York, you can make it big in Mumbai. I didn’t make it in New York by fluke. People look at parties and think it’s so much fun, but to even enter a party in New York is not easy. It’s all strategic because you don’t go to a party to make real friendships. You go to befriend [famous] people.
There have been times that I have been at parties and places where I had no purpose. I remember I going to a Louis Vuitton fashion show [in New York] and I was the first one to [get there]. I just stood there for half an hour because I didn’t know what to do. And then someone else came, and he entered with grandeur. The team from Louis Vuitton went to him and said, “Oh my god, you’re the first person to arrive.” But I was there the whole time and my presence wasn’t noticed. So I saw that Asian man and the grandeur [that he possessed] and I learnt from that.
I realised that when you enter a room, you don’t just enter it. Your aura—your presence—has to enter the room before you. So when the door opens, your glow has to enter. In the socialite world, people have to leave remembering you.
Above Orry is known to be India’s most recognisable internet star (Photo: courtesy of Orhan Awatramani)
Orry is known to be India’s most recognisable internet star (Photo: courtesy of Orhan Awatramani)
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How do you do it? What’s your secret?
The other day, my friend Isha [Ambani] pointed out that I bring objects of interest to parties. I call them Objects of Orry. It’s an easy ice-breaking trick. I always have something interesting on [me] that’s not [necessarily] attention-seeking, but it goes with my personality.
For example, at the Jamnagar celebrations of the Ambani wedding [in 2024], I was wearing a suit with a mosquito on it and had giant dandelions as my earrings. [After her performance] Rihanna came right to me and said, “I could see your earrings from the stage. Give it [one of them] to me.” She lost it and came back for the other one.
What’s the most memorable party you’ve been to, and what made it stand out?
I have made a living out of attending parties, so it’s hard to pinpoint one memorable party.
Bollywood parties are very private and very contained, and the guest list is tight, even though the party itself is not downsized in scale.
Then there are high-profile events like an Ambani wedding or [Indian industrialist] Arvind Dubash’s parties, which are larger than life. What really excites me is when you see South Bombay high society dress up, because you don’t see that on Instagram. You don’t get to see Jaya Raheja [head of design at property development group K Raheja Corp] and Roohi Jaikishan [heiress to a fast-moving consumer goods empire] when they are dressed up. That’s a sight to see. So when Arvind Dubash throws a party, you see Bollywood and high society gather together, and everyone’s dressed to the nines.
I used to see his parties in the papers growing up. Then one day, I was sitting next to him at a fashion show, and we kind of clicked. Then he invited me to his party, and I was just so excited—what a fun party it was. The house itself was beautiful, with its pond, its gardens and the ocean. That was a party I would never forget, because I grew up wanting to be invited to it and one day I was.
Above Orry manifested this successful version of himself from a young age (Photo: courtesy of Orhan Awatramani)
Orry manifested this successful version of himself from a young age (Photo: courtesy of Orhan Awatramani)
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Attending glamorous Bollywood events is your thing, but what do you do in your downtime?
I don’t do downtime. It gives me anxiety to stay still. Even after partying until the crack of dawn, I will be at the gym in the morning or the afternoon. I’m the most punctual person you will meet.
I am also always rewatching my content and analysing what could have been done better. How could this reel get pushed? How has Instagram changed its algorithm? Very simply put, when I’m not at a glamorous party, I’m figuring out the next glamorous party.
I read somewhere that you had once said that to be your friend, one has to be famous. Is that true or false?
I said it jokingly in that interview because it was a sassy, banter-y kind of conversation. I was playing into the joke of “being Orry”. But I want to quote from an Instagram comment: “You’re meant to be the one who’s nice to everyone from any background.” And it’s true. Do you have to be famous to be my friend? No, but I would like to be the kind of person that if you’re my friend, you become famous too.
You did a few odd jobs, including bussing tables, before you became this internet sensation. Can you tell us about those lesser-known parts of your journey?
Yes, I used to bus tables. I also did a desk job, which required me to learn Microsoft Excel. Can you believe I was working in an office from 9am to 11pm? It was so unclean that we even had a rat in a drawer, which we called the ODM—the office drawer mouse.
How can you tell whether someone wants to be your friend or if they just want to be famous?
I can see through it easily. Having been trained in the New York social circuit, which is the toughest in the world, this is one skill I own very well. I can tell when someone has an agenda or if it’s an honest friendship. A lot of people say that once you become famous, you don’t make new friends, because how do you trust them? No, I make new friends every day. I’m collecting friends left, right and centre.
Have you ever considered acting yourself?
I’ve never been envious of my celebrity friends because they’re acting in films. It’s never been something I wanted to do. I’ve been very clear. Have I wanted to be famous? Yes. Did I want to act? No. Am I famous? Yes. Do I act? No.
But when we were chatting casually earlier, you mentioned you were shooting for something. Would you like to share details?
I’m shooting something that I would not say no to. It was an opportunity that came my way. When Christopher Nolan or Quentin Tarantino says, “Will you act for me?” You say, “Yes”. It was something like that. But I can’t reveal more.
What are your long-term goals?
A lot of people ask me about my long-term goals, but I never really know what to say. If I met my childhood self, I’d say: “Do exactly what you’re doing.” I am exactly where you wanted to be on this date. You sitting on this sofa, interviewing me for Tatler, is exactly where I wanted to be on this day.
The only thing I want now is to mainstream-ify myself. That will be a challenge because a celebrity is only a celebrity if they are a celebrity.
I’m currently a celebrity in India and perhaps in some other countries. Now, if I were to disappear—whether by leaving the country or retreating to a mountain—when I come back to public life, would I still be as relevant?
In India, you’re only famous for two things: cricket or Bollywood. Right now, Bollywood stars release a movie once or twice a year, followed by long gaps between successes. Or you’re a star kid, which is fine—your parents have earned the right for you to be famous. I, however, thrive on a series of short-term successes. I’m famous—yay—but it’s short-lived. My “working on myself” video on TikTok went viral, then my “I’m living, so I’m a liver” video went viral, then it was my interview on Koffee with Karan [a popular TV chat show hosted by Bollywood director Karan Johar], then something else—a lot of tiny, tiny bombs, but these tiny bombs keep everybody hooked.
Have I created enough of a nucleus cache to always be the star that I am today? I don’t know, because like I said on Koffee with Karan, the brightest stars burn out the fastest.
So my goal is to mainstream-ify myself, because I’m known for being a celebrity, I’m known for being a public person, and that’s what I want to [continue being] known for.
As the Regional Editor for Watches and Jewellery and Editorial Content Lead for Tatler GMT, Amrita Katara specialises in luxury watch and jewellery coverage across Asia, with expertise in editorial strategy, feature writing and interviews with industry leaders. Her past roles span luxury lifestyle media and client partnerships. Based in Mumbai, Amrita’s work bridges global trends and Asian market insights.
