A boy stood on bustling MG Road on Monday, holding a placard seeking money for an iPhone X.
A passer-by was incredulous. “Is this for real or are you playing the fool?” he snapped. He demanded to know why the boy needed a phone whose base model is priced at about Rs 89,000.
Mohammed Zaid (17), the boy with the ‘Need money for an iPhone X’ placard, admitted, “Sir, this is a prank.”
Some passers-by were more sympathetic. One was even ready to buy him the phone.
“He took out a was of Rs 2,000 notes, and asked if I really needed the phone. He told me to go with him to the nearest iPhone store,” said Zaid, who politely declined the generosity.
Many walking by were startled and annoyed Zaid was seeking cash for a phone with snob value.
“Don’t you have anything better to do? You think an iPhone is a necessity?” a man said.
Another muttered, “These days kids do anything.”
A student of Presidency College, Zaid has been pulling off pranks with his friends, who were standing across the street shooting his act.
They do it for the likes on social media. Their YouTube channel is called Kookypedia, and features videos of their pranks.
“We want our channel to be famous,” said Naveen, Zaid’s friend.
Reny Vincent, another boy in the group, disclosed their plans for another prank: one of them would go to Cantonment railway station in a white sari, dressed as a ghostly enchantress.
“I am going to scare people tonight,” said Shoaib Khan, who saw himself fronting the prank.
The ghost prank is lined up for uploading next.
“We will put it up next week,” said Naveed, a student of Brindavan College in the group. “We need a week for editing.”