The Mumbai-based film industry known as Bollywood is renowned for its hit musicals on a global scale. However, it is more than Hindi musicals and may also be regarded as a form of cultural alterity that resists dominant Western stereotypes. This paper argues that Japanese influencers on social media (especially YouTube) are re-interpreting exotic Bollywood, which brings into focus the art form that stems from Indian cinema. This cultural intervention thus amounts to a new channel of self-expression for Japanese women: one with much potential to have far-reaching sociological and societal implications, such as women entrepreneurs. To show this phenomenon, I have selected three examples out of the many influencers currently active based on the extent of their social media following. I have chosen the top Japanese influencers from three different tiers: mega, micro and nano. These influencers are the ones who predominantly produce content using Indian culture. The first has millions of followers, the second thousands and the last just a few hundred. It may be considered a core sample through a complex, multifaceted digital-cultural manifestation. For this analysis of digital anthropology, I have focused chiefly on YouTube statistics from Social Blade, which helps to discern the influencers' social media journey as they build their brand online. My research aims to demonstrate how the exotic representations of Bollywood in Japan have become a means of empowerment for these Japanese YouTubers. Although there is a plethora of information about Bollywood in general, the current way to appreciate its influence in the context of contemporary popularized narratives of Japanese women is mainly through digital media. Using available scholarly work on gender and taking a broader approach, I aim to highlight some of the social and even economic forces that may be seen as shaping this contemporary phenomenon.
