Vikas Khanna on Instagram Rings: Why Authenticity Matters

In a world where social media creators are constantly competing for attention, perfectly edited videos, trending audio and impressive follower counts can easily become the measures of success. But celebrity chef Vikas Khanna believes that the most memorable content is driven by something far more meaningful: authenticity, creativity and the ability to make people feel something.

Known internationally for his culinary expertise and his efforts to bring Indian cuisine and culture to a global audience, Khanna has developed a perspective on storytelling that extends beyond the kitchen. His approach to Instagram is rooted in the belief that content should have a purpose, connect with people and reflect the person behind it.

Khanna is part of the jury for this year’s Instagram Rings, an initiative that recognises creators who take creative risks, bring communities together and express themselves in distinctive ways. Rather than focusing exclusively on follower counts, views or popularity, the award celebrates originality and the impact creators have on their audiences.

Last year, Indian creator Dolly Singh received Instagram Rings recognition. This year, Khanna will help identify creators whose work reflects the spirit of the initiative. His emphasis on meaningful storytelling offers an interesting perspective on what it takes to stand out in an increasingly crowded digital landscape.

When asked what makes a creator’s work memorable beyond numbers and reach, Khanna offered a straightforward answer: impact.

“Because of the cameras and AI and tools, you can make beautiful videos. But to create something, you need to have some soul in it,” he explained.

That idea became the foundation of the conversation: technology can improve the appearance of content, but it cannot automatically give a story emotional depth. For Khanna, the most effective creators are those who understand what they want to communicate and why their stories matter.

What does authenticity actually look like on Instagram?

Authenticity has become one of the most frequently discussed ideas in the creator economy. As audiences encounter increasingly polished videos, sponsored posts and carefully constructed online identities, content that feels personal and relatable can stand out. However, being authentic does not necessarily mean abandoning production quality or deliberately making imperfect videos.

For Khanna, authenticity begins with being comfortable with who you are. It means allowing your personality, experiences and beliefs to shape your work instead of creating a version of yourself designed exclusively to please an audience.

During the conversation, he recalled watching a Reel about the last phone call a person might make. The video stayed with him, prompting him to share it on his Instagram Stories. Its impact did not depend on elaborate visuals or a complicated production process. Instead, it made him stop and think.

That reaction illustrates what he values in digital storytelling. Content becomes meaningful when it inspires reflection, encourages someone to make a positive change or introduces an idea that remains with them long after they have finished watching.

“I just feel that somehow when people watch this, it makes them think or makes them get better,” Khanna said. He added that content does not need to be elaborate to achieve that purpose. Sometimes, a simple and sincere message can be more effective than a highly synchronised video designed to attract attention.

His observation is particularly relevant at a time when creators have access to sophisticated editing software, artificial intelligence tools, high-quality cameras and a constant supply of viral trends. These resources can make content visually impressive, but appearance alone does not guarantee an emotional connection.

As Khanna puts it, “The video does not have to be perfect. It just has to be authentic.”

The distinction is important. Creators do not necessarily need to reject technology, professional production or creative experimentation. Instead, they need to ensure that these elements support the story rather than replace its substance.

On a platform where trends can change quickly and creators are often encouraged to measure themselves against others, his advice offers a different way to think about success. Rather than asking whether a video looks perfect, creators can ask whether it communicates something meaningful and feels true to the person who made it.

What Vikas Khanna will look for as an Instagram Rings jury member

As a jury member, Khanna’s perspective is shaped by his experience as a chef, entrepreneur and storyteller. His work demonstrates how a personal connection to a subject can become the foundation for a larger cultural narrative.

For him, the question is not simply whether a creator can make an attractive video or attract millions of views. It is whether the work has an identifiable point of view and the ability to leave a lasting impression.

Beyond follower counts and reach, what makes a creator’s work memorable?

Vikas Khanna: Impact. Because of the cameras, AI and tools, you can make beautiful videos. But to create something, you need to have some soul in it. For me, that is what matters.

His answer challenges the assumption that a large audience automatically makes content influential. Reach can indicate how many people have encountered a post, but it does not necessarily reveal whether the content has changed a perspective, inspired a conversation or created a meaningful connection.

Impact, in this sense, can take different forms. A creator might encourage people to explore an unfamiliar culture, rethink an everyday habit, learn something new or reconnect with a part of their identity. The value lies in what the content makes possible, not just in the numbers displayed beneath it.

What does authentic storytelling mean in an era of increasingly polished social media?

Vikas Khanna: “I feel that authenticity cannot be removed from the self. It comes from being yourself. Even if that means you are not your perfect self.”

Khanna’s perspective suggests that authenticity is not a performance of imperfection. It is a willingness to allow a real personality to emerge through creative work, even when that personality does not fit conventional expectations.

His example of the Reel about the last phone call reinforces this idea. The content affected him because it encouraged reflection, and he wanted to share that experience with his own audience. The decision was not presented as a calculated strategy to increase engagement. It was a response to something that had genuinely moved him.

“When people watch something and it makes them think or makes them want to do something better, that is meaningful,” he said. “A video does not have to be perfect. It just has to be authentic.”

For creators, this approach offers a useful reminder: audiences can connect with uncertainty, vulnerability and individuality. A story does not have to be universally appealing to be valuable. Sometimes, its distinctiveness is precisely what makes it memorable.

How Bungalow reflects Vikas Khanna’s approach to authenticity

Khanna’s views on authentic storytelling are not limited to Instagram. They are also reflected in Bungalow, his restaurant in Manhattan, where Indian food and cultural traditions form an important part of the experience.

When he began introducing the restaurant to the public, Khanna chose a deeply personal approach rather than relying exclusively on conventional restaurant publicity. He wanted to tell the story behind the project, including the emotional significance of his late sister’s memory.

According to Khanna, the restaurant was announced 50 days before opening, with the announcement connected to what would have been his sister’s 50th birthday. The idea was to honour her memory and explain the personal journey behind the restaurant.

He recalled that several public relations professionals questioned the approach. He was advised to focus on showcasing dishes rather than sharing a personal story, and he was told that audiences would not necessarily be interested in hearing stories about brown people.

Khanna chose not to follow that advice.

“This restaurant comes after a lot of pain and a lot of long journeys,” he said, explaining why the story mattered to him. He wanted Bungalow to represent more than a collection of dishes. It was also an opportunity to share the depth of Indian culinary traditions and the experiences that had shaped his work.

For Khanna, Indian cuisine represents a civilisational heritage, with food carrying memories, rituals, regional identities and cultural knowledge across generations. Presenting that heritage to an international audience meant telling a story that went beyond the restaurant’s menu.

He explained that he did not want to seek constant validation or shape the restaurant around what publicity professionals thought would attract attention. Instead, he wanted the idea behind Bungalow to remain central to its identity.

Khanna believes that this commitment helped establish a distinctive experience. He pointed to the restaurant’s continued popularity, noting that securing a reservation remained difficult three years after its opening. In his view, the appeal comes from the authenticity of the experience rather than an entirely staged presentation.

The comparison with social media is clear. Whether introducing a restaurant or creating a Reel, Khanna believes that a strong idea, a genuine personal connection and a willingness to tell the story honestly can be more powerful than following a formula.

Celebrating India: Bringing cultural stories to a global audience

One of the most visible examples of Khanna’s storytelling approach is Celebrating India, an initiative that uses Instagram to highlight different aspects of Indian culture.

The concept centres on sharing the country’s cultural richness through food, traditions, ingredients, celebrations and regional identities. Rather than presenting Indian culture as a single, uniform experience, the initiative explores the variety of practices and stories that exist across different communities and regions.

Khanna said the initiative has crossed more than two billion views since it began. The figure, he believes, demonstrates that audiences are interested in cultural storytelling when it is presented with care and a clear sense of purpose.

He described how the restaurant’s daily activities can become opportunities to tell different stories. On one day, the team might bring in green bananas from Chennai. On another, it might feature mogra flowers from Mumbai as Navratri begins. Different dances may honour different goddesses, while the story behind the prasad can provide another way to explain a tradition and its significance.

These details are not merely decorative additions to a dining experience. They connect ingredients, rituals and celebrations with the communities and histories from which they emerge.

“We tell the story, and we tell the story of the Prasad. Which restaurant can do that?” Khanna said.

His approach highlights a different way for businesses and creators to use social media. Instead of treating a product as the entire story, they can explore the people, places, memories and traditions that give it meaning.

Such storytelling can require substantial effort. Researching cultural practices, sourcing ingredients, documenting traditions and communicating their significance take time and resources. Yet Khanna believes there is an audience willing to engage with this depth.

“What is working today? Not just staged food content,” he said, pointing to the interest generated by stories that offer more than visually appealing dishes.

For creators working in food, travel, fashion, lifestyle or culture, the lesson is relevant. A post can become more compelling when it explains why something matters, rather than simply showing what it looks like.

Why connecting younger generations with Indian culture matters

For Khanna, cultural storytelling also serves a purpose beyond entertainment or audience engagement. It can help younger generations develop a stronger connection with their heritage.

Family traditions have often been passed down through everyday activities: cooking a particular meal, observing a festival, sharing stories about relatives or learning the meaning behind a ritual. As lifestyles change and families become increasingly busy, opportunities to maintain these practices can become more limited.

Khanna believes that social media can provide another way for younger audiences to discover these connections. Digital platforms can introduce people to traditions they may not regularly encounter at home and encourage them to learn more about the history and meaning behind them.

“I can promise you, when I talk about this on Instagram, there is a whole new idea going to younger generations about being connected to what a country is,” he said.

He also acknowledged that keeping cultural activities alive at home can be difficult in a divided social environment. In his view, Bungalow has become a space where people from different parts of India and the wider world can come together around a shared interest in food and culture.

That sense of connection is central to his understanding of authenticity. Cultural storytelling becomes more than a way to attract attention when it helps people recognise shared experiences, discover unfamiliar traditions and understand the diversity within a country.

Social media can play a role in that process, particularly when creators approach cultural subjects with curiosity, respect and a willingness to explain their significance. The strongest stories can make heritage accessible without reducing it to a trend or a visual aesthetic.

For Khanna, authenticity remains the key to making that connection meaningful.

What makes a creator stand out in the age of AI?

Artificial intelligence has expanded the possibilities available to digital creators. From editing and scripting to generating visuals and improving production workflows, new tools can help people produce content more quickly and experiment with different formats.

However, the growing availability of these tools also raises an important question: when polished content becomes easier to produce, what makes one creator’s work different from another’s?

Khanna’s answer returns to the human element. Technology can help a creator communicate an idea, but it cannot replace the personal experiences, cultural understanding and individual perspective that give a story its identity.

Two creators can use similar cameras, editing software and visual effects while producing very different work. The difference may lie in what they notice, what they care about and the experiences they bring to their storytelling.

That is why Khanna does not see perfection as a requirement for meaningful content. A video can be technically impressive yet emotionally empty, while a simple recording can resonate because it expresses something honest and recognisable.

This does not mean that creators should ignore quality or stop learning new skills. Rather, it suggests that technical polish works best when it supports an idea instead of becoming the idea itself.

For emerging creators, this can be a useful way to approach content development. Before investing time in effects, transitions or trending audio, consider the central message. What do you want viewers to understand, feel or remember? Why are you the person telling this story? And what makes your perspective different?

Those questions can help creators develop a more distinctive voice, regardless of the size of their audience or the resources available to them.

So, what could make this year’s Instagram Rings winner special?

Khanna’s perspective offers a compelling way to think about the creators who may stand out in this year’s Instagram Rings recognition. The strongest candidates, in his view, are likely to be those who bring their own experiences and ideas to their work rather than simply reproducing whatever is popular.

Originality does not necessarily require inventing an entirely new format. It can emerge from an unusual perspective on an everyday experience, a personal story that helps others feel understood or a creative way of sharing a cultural tradition.

Likewise, impact does not have to mean reaching the largest possible audience. A piece of content can be meaningful because it starts a conversation, encourages someone to learn something new or makes a viewer reconsider an assumption.

These qualities are closely connected to Khanna’s own experience with Bungalow. Instead of relying solely on conventional publicity, he chose to communicate the personal history and cultural ideas behind the restaurant. His approach placed storytelling at the centre of the experience and gave audiences a reason to connect with it beyond the food itself.

That philosophy aligns with the broader idea behind Instagram Rings: recognising creators who take creative chances, express themselves in their own way and build meaningful connections with people.

It also offers a reminder that the creator economy is not only about visibility. While views and followers can help measure distribution, they cannot fully capture the emotional or cultural value of a piece of work.

The creators who leave a lasting impression may be those who know what they want to say and are willing to say it in a way that feels true to them. Their content may be funny, thoughtful, educational, artistic or deeply personal. What matters is that it carries a perspective audiences can recognise as their own.

What creators can learn from Vikas Khanna’s approach

Khanna’s views on Instagram offer several practical lessons for anyone looking to create more meaningful content.

• Prioritise the idea over the aesthetic. Attractive visuals can draw attention, but a clear and meaningful idea gives audiences a reason to remember the content.
• Tell stories that matter to you. Personal experiences, cultural connections and genuine interests can help creators develop a distinctive voice.
• Do not confuse authenticity with imperfection. Being genuine does not require deliberately poor production. It means allowing your real perspective to come through.
• Look beyond immediate engagement. A post’s value can extend beyond likes and views if it inspires reflection, learning or meaningful conversations.
• Give cultural stories their proper context. When sharing traditions, food or heritage, explain their significance instead of treating them as visual trends.
• Use technology to support your creativity. Editing tools and AI can improve how an idea is communicated, but the underlying story should remain central.
• Build connections rather than simply chasing reach. Content that helps audiences feel informed, represented or inspired can create a stronger relationship over time.

These principles are relevant to established creators and newcomers alike. A large following is not a prerequisite for meaningful storytelling, and a creator does not need a sophisticated production setup to communicate a compelling idea.

What matters is the willingness to create with intention, understand the audience and remain connected to the reasons for making the content in the first place.

Frequently asked questions

What is Instagram Rings?

Instagram Rings is an initiative that recognises creators for their creativity, originality and ability to make an impact. Its focus extends beyond follower counts and views to include the spirit behind a creator’s work and the connections it builds with audiences.

What does Vikas Khanna look for in a social media creator?

Khanna places particular importance on impact, authenticity and the presence of a meaningful idea. He believes that memorable content should have a human quality and encourage audiences to think, feel or learn something rather than relying solely on visual polish.

Why does Vikas Khanna believe content does not have to be perfect?

Khanna believes that authenticity is more important than perfection. A video does not need elaborate production or flawless presentation to make an impression if its message feels genuine and resonates with viewers.

What is Celebrating India?

Celebrating India is an initiative associated with Khanna’s storytelling on Instagram that highlights different aspects of Indian culture. Through food, ingredients, festivals, traditions and regional practices, it aims to share the country’s cultural diversity with a broad audience. Khanna said the initiative has crossed more than two billion views.

How does Bungalow reflect Vikas Khanna’s philosophy?

Khanna’s Manhattan restaurant, Bungalow, reflects his belief in telling authentic stories. Alongside its food, the restaurant highlights Indian culinary traditions, cultural practices and personal experiences. Khanna has said that he chose to communicate the personal story behind the restaurant rather than rely exclusively on conventional promotional strategies.

Can AI help creators produce authentic content?

AI and other digital tools can support production, editing and creative experimentation. However, Khanna’s perspective suggests that technology alone cannot create a meaningful connection. The creator’s individual perspective, purpose and willingness to communicate honestly remain essential.

Conclusion: Authenticity is what makes content memorable

My conversation with Vikas Khanna began with a question about what he would look for as a jury member for Instagram Rings. It ended with a broader reflection on why certain pieces of content make us pause while others disappear from memory almost immediately.

His answer is refreshingly simple: the person behind the content matters. Cameras, editing software and artificial intelligence can help creators produce beautiful videos, but meaningful storytelling depends on having something worth communicating and the courage to express it honestly.

Khanna’s experience with Bungalow and Celebrating India demonstrates how that philosophy can extend beyond individual social media posts. By sharing personal experiences and highlighting India’s cultural diversity, he has made storytelling an important part of how he connects with audiences.

For creators navigating a platform shaped by trends, algorithms and constant comparison, his message is worth remembering. You do not need to present a perfectly packaged version of yourself to make an impression. You need a perspective, a story and a genuine reason to share it.

That is also what makes the Instagram Rings initiative interesting. The recognition is not simply about identifying the creator with the biggest audience. It is about celebrating people who create with individuality, take creative risks and make others feel something through their work.

As Khanna’s perspective suggests, the most memorable creators may not always be the ones who make the most polished videos. They may be the ones who give us a reason to stop scrolling, think a little differently and remember what we have just watched.