You can never be too rich, too thin… or too young to be incredibly famous, at least if you are Yusuf Iskandar. Barely able to walk, certainly limited in his talk, he still he has more than 2.1 million followers on Instagram. He’s not even 2 yet.
His parents are famous Malay-language celebrities. His mother is Hanis Zalikha, who is not only an actress and host of television programs, but also a shill for headscarves, lipsticks and some sort of cover-all detox + whitener shots combo that makes promises it probably can’t keep.
When she’s not doing that, you can find her live-blogging her son’s life for his millions of social media followers.
His father, Hairul Azreen, is a film actor, one-time Fear Factor contestant, and by the looks of his social media posts, quite the gym rat. He’s also listed as a “moderator” on his son’s Instagram page.
To say they are busy is an understatement. One must applaud their work-ethic and aplomb to strike every surface while the iron is hot, capitalizing on their time in the spotlight. Um, right?
Their celebrity has been extended to their baby son, who is undeniably cute in the way that all babies are cute — namely, he says silly things and does random things.
Together with the family cat, Bujibu Chempel, Yusuf will star in his own reality show My Little Heroes – Yusuf & Bujubu. Both parents want the public to rest assured: their son will not become a slave to the camera lens, and they’ve both iterated to Harian Metro that they have no issue with their baby working to pay for that kitty litter.
Hanis has gone on the record to say that shooting time for her baby will be “limited to five hours daily,” essentially making his work-day more productive in content than a certain editor, half the time, most of the time.
She sees little cause for worry, since the shooting will work around Yusuf playing, or doing outdoor activities.
There was no mention if the five hours would be consecutive, whether they would include time taken out for naps, tantrums or just the occasional “off-day” – that is, when neither the baby nor the cat can be arsed with a camera in their respective faces.
Come to think of it, five hours sounds either incredibly ambitious, or tortuous, for two of earth’s most temperamental creatures: a baby and a cat.
Malaysian reality television and social media seem to have an unquenchable thirst for toddler antics. Yusuf’s most popular Instagram post, from Jan. 2, showed him dancing, and was viewed over 3.4 million times. It spawned an entire dance challenge that saw celebs and civilians alike copying his dance moves.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BdcyJwjnIOy/?taken-by=theyusufiskandar
The effects of fame, a constant camera, and hyper-reality on a baby have yet to be determined. North West: We’re watching with bated breath as you negotiate your way out of Kris Jenner’s iron-clad contract.
While it’s difficult, and even harmful, for some viewers to struggle to determine which parts of reality TV are real, what of the players whose existence is largely defined by being on the other side of the lens?
There seems to be no stopping this Thomas the Tank Engine-style fame gravy train: Yusuf & Bujibu is already in motion, and will appear on Astro Ria beginning Jan. 31.
Word from other kids in the biz: Inland revenue knows you’re out there making hella cash, and will audit your diapered bottom if you get shady on your filing. Pay your taxes, kiddo.
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