Old video of HOB founder saying business idea came to her ‘out of the blue’ is viral

The Humans of Bombay (HOB) founder Karishma Mehta faced a new wave of criticism amid the ongoing controversy after a video of her old speech went viral. A few days ago the storytelling platform filed a copyright infringement suit against an Instagram page called People of India. In the resurfaced old video, Mehta can be seen delivering a speech at the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), Delhi where she explains that the idea for HOB came to her “out of the blue.” The clip has created a chatter with many criticising her and saying that the idea of her platform stems from US-based writer Brandon Stanton's work - Humans of New York.

The old video was reshared on X by the handle @nikhiilist. In the clip, Mehta can be heard saying, "Completely randomly and out of the blue, I stumbled upon the idea of Humans of Bombay, and I started it. And it clicked. That period was a high of its own to start something new." (Also Read: ‘When art begins with profit motive…’, Humans of New York founder's latest dig at Humans of Bombay which makes…)

She further states about her struggles. "For the first three years, Humans of Bombay didn't make any income. It was completely bootstrapped, self-run, and I was pretty much not making any money."

@nikhiilist also tagged Humans of New York while resharing the video. In an earlier statement shared by Stanton, he wrote, “I've stayed quiet on the appropriation of my work because I think @HumansOfBombay shares important stories, even if they've monetized far past anything I'd feel comfortable doing on HONY. But you can't be suing people for what I've forgiven you for.”

Watch the entire video of Karishma Mehta addressing students at IIFT here:

This video was reshared on X on September 24. Since being posted, it has been viewed more than five lakh times. The share also has over 3,000 likes. Many took to the comments section of the post to share how Mehta's idea of starting Humans of Bombay came from Humans of New York.

Here's how people are reacting to this video:

An individual wrote, "When you tell a lie hundreds of times, it doesn't classify as a lie anymore."

A second said, "The categorical influencer. Unoriginal. Petty and never give credit to those who deserve it. And yes, they have an immense struggle."

A third commented, "When people bluntly lie then it's time to unforgive them @humansofny." (Also Read: ‘Related to IP, not storytelling’: Humans of Bombay clarifies on copyright lawsuit

"And the concept and the name turned out to be an exact replica of Humans of New York…damn! What a coincidence." expressed another.

A fourth shared, "The audacity. I'm feeling secondhand embarrassment."

"Storytelling gone wrong," said another.

About Humans of Bombay vs People of India case

Humans of Bombay, a storytelling platform, has filed a lawsuit in the Delhi High Court against another online storytelling page People of India for copyright infringement.