Good sleep on Wakefit helps Prafull Billore turn ‘panauti’ into power

They say a person’s fate is determined even before birth. But how does one defy destiny—especially when tagged a panauti (bad luck)? Well, before someone suggests black magic or elaborate rituals to change your stars, mattress brand Wakefit offers a surprisingly simple solution: a good night’s sleep.    

In the first episode of a new series titled Panauti Ek Khoj, Wakefit features Prafull Billore, aka MBA Chaiwala. The founder of the tea business has gained popularity online as a panauti. However, he has turned it around in his favour, and Wakefit in its new ad credits it to the good quality sleep that he gets on the brand’s mattress.   

The panauti trend kicked off after a viral selfie with cricketer Suryakumar Yadav. On June 21, Billore posted an inflight selfie with the batsman on X. The following day, Yadav managed to score only 6 runs in India’s T20 match against Bangladesh, sparking lighthearted speculation about Billore’s supposed panauti effect.    

Billore then leaned into the reverse jinx trend. Amid the relentless trolling, he began resharing edited mugshots created by netizens, featuring himself alongside players from teams facing India. Before the India vs England semi-final, he shared several such images with English cricketers like Jos Buttler and Jofra Archer in comical poses, humorously attempting to turn his ‘jinx’ power against the opposition.   

Netizens enthusiastically embraced the trend, especially after India’s 68-run victory over England in the semifinals in Guyana.

Riding high on this streak, Billore shifted his focus to South African players and their team. Using the hashtag #IStandWithSouthAfrica, he even shared a photo of himself posing in front of the South African flag, adding fuel to the playful narrative and keeping the meme frenzy going strong. India won this series of four T20 matches 3-1.    

Billore masterfully transformed trolling into a lighthearted, positive narrative.   

Wakefit is now riding on this trend for its latest ad. In the ad, we see Billore dressed as Santa Clause gifting people a Wakefit mattress to ensure that they have good sound sleep in the New Year.    

A news reporter approaches him and asks him the story of his journey from being an entrepreneur to a panauti. In an over two-minute-long ad, Billore wittily narrates how the trolling affected his sleep. Then, the Wakefit orthopedic mattress entered his life, and sleeping on it changed his perspective on life.    

While he still remained a panauti, he decided to use the bad luck to the Indian cricket team’s advantage. Since he understood the importance of good sleep, he is now gifting the mattress to others to change their lives.

Next on his agenda is to join the Australian cricket team. Hopefully his panauti works in the favour of India for the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy.