This Guy Is Getting Millions of Views for Impersonating Mr Bean

Last year, just months before India threw out TikTok, Jatin Thanvi got onto the short video app that blew up in the pandemic. The 20-year-old architecture student dabbled in the usual dance trends and challenges that overpopulated the platform before realising he would have to come up with something unique if he wanted to stand out. That’s when he decided to do his first video imitating television’s much-loved ’90s character Mr Bean, who his friends believed he bore a resemblance to. 

Almost overnight, his first video hit 56 million views on TikTok. 

Today, Thanvi refers to himself as “Jr Mr Bean” on Instagram and YouTube. His content essentially channels the goofy, anarchic and happy-go-lucky energy of Mr Bean to offer up an Indian interpretation of the iconic character portrayed by Rowan Atkinson in the 1990s and 2000s. 

“Even as a kid, people told me I resembled Mr Bean,” Thanvi told VICE.  “I would dress up like him during fancy dress contests, too.” Thanvi also appreciated the fact that the beloved character rarely ever needed words to make people laugh, choosing instead to use signature savage and slapstick gimmicks. 

In fact, even Atkinson largely credited the global success of his “childish anarchic” character to its visual language. “I always believed that 'Mr. Bean' had a very good chance of being successful and having longevity, partly because the comedy is mainly visual and partly because Mr Bean is essentially a child in a man's body,” Atkinson said in an interview with PTI. “Across all races and cultures, the behaviour of children tends to be the same and so is easily identified and laughed at.”

In a tribute to the icon, Thanvi’s videos regularly feature him wearing a tie and blazer and carrying around a tiny teddy bear meant to stand in for Bean’s best friend, Teddy. He even puts on the same deep, slurry voice that Mr Bean has come to be associated with. 

Many of his videos employ the dazed confusion and nonchalance of the original character, but substitute the setting for an Indian environment. From Mr Bean showing up for garba (a dance form from Gujarat) to recreating Bean’s iconic theatre popcorn scene with an Indian brand of munchies (Kurkure), the desi Mr Bean tries to localise his content for bonus relatability points. His videos often feature a wall he himself has painted with Mr Bean’s face. A photo of this wall once got him a retweet from Rowan Atkinson himself, a great honour for his protégé. 

For Thanvi, role-playing his favourite character wasn’t just about going viral. It was also about breaking out of his shell. 

Growing up as a vulnerable and shy kid, Thanvi admitted that he lacked self-confidence in his early years. He then got into a string of arguments with his childhood friends, pushing him to grow afraid of losing the few friends he’d managed to make. 

But each time he saw his screen come alive with the peculiar presence of Mr Bean – a character who didn’t quite fit into societal norms either but never seemed to care – Thanvi felt his awkwardness chip away bit by bit. 

“Mr Bean is a man who doesn’t need anyone,” he said. “He doesn’t care what others have to say because he is enough for himself. Watching and imitating him has taught me how to be self-sufficient and disregard what others have to say, too.” 

By impersonating his icon, Thanvi was able to work on his social skills and overcome his debilitating stage fright. 

“People now stop me on the streets and ask for a selfie,” he said. “It feels good to know that I am entertaining them.” 

For Thanvi, his goal is to build an online community tied together by the values of being comfortable in your own skin that Mr Bean subtly promotes. But along the way, he has managed to catch the attention of brands like credit card company Slice It, and KFC, earning anywhere between Rs 20,000 to 50,000 ($267 to $668) for his promotional content. 

“We are trying to create a Mr Bean for the digital era,” said Thanvi. “Currently, my focus is to flesh out the character and Indianise it so that it can be relatable for Indians everywhere and inspire them to feel comfortable being themselves, no matter what society thinks of them.”

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