Content creator and social media personality Apoorva Makhija, widely recognised online as The Rebel Kid, has swapped her usual chaos for a classroom in New York, enrolling in an MBA programme at NYU Stern. The plan, she says, in a recent interview, is to eventually head back to India and launch a direct-to-consumer brand of her own. The relocation arrives more than a year after she found herself at the centre of a massive controversy stemming from her appearance on Samay Raina’s ‘India’s Got Latent’, where an ill-judged joke about a contestant’s mother triggered widespread backlash and several FIRs filed against her under the IT Act.
Apoorva Makhija on having no regrets, despite the chaos
Now 25 and most recently seen on ‘Lock Upp’ Season 2, Apoorva insists she isn’t looking back with remorse. In a conversation with Hindustan Times, she explained, “I’ve apologised and taken accountability whenever I’ve been wrong. I don’t regret any of my decisions. I genuinely think it’s all part of the plot. I get to live this absolutely crazy life where almost everything I do gets an extreme reaction.”She’s candid, though, about the price her impulsive streak has extracted. “My impulsiveness has definitely come at a cost sometimes. But I don’t think I would go back and erase any of it, because without those mistakes, I wouldn’t be the person I am right now or be standing at this point in my life.” She continues, “Every mistake I’ve made, every bad decision, every difficult situation has somehow led me to exactly where I am today, moving to New York, trying to figure out my purpose, searching for meaning, and asking myself what more I want to do with my life.“
Apoorva Makhija on stepping away from the persona
At the heart of her decision to leave is something far more personal than career strategy: a need to disconnect from the relentless machinery of staying online and relevant. “I’m moving to the US partly to get away from this constant pressure to stay relevant, reinvent yourself, figure out what you have to say next, and keep maintaining an online persona all the time. I think somewhere along the way, I’ve genuinely forgotten who I am when I’m not being The Rebel Kid.“The weight of public scrutiny, she admits, isn’t always easy to carry. “It feels like a lot of responsibility, and sometimes it feels like no matter what I do, somebody is going to criticize it. But at the same time, that is also the beauty of my life.”
Apoorva Makhija’s return to Bollywood
Asked whether a return to Bollywood is on the cards, Apoorva, who made her acting debut with ‘Nadaaniyan’ (2025) and has since appeared in a handful of web shows, is unambiguous. “I see myself coming back to India, but no, I don’t see myself building a career in Bollywood.”
Apoorva Makhija on filling in the gaps in her business know-how
The MBA, Makhija explains, is meant to plug a very specific gap she felt in her entrepreneurial toolkit, “Over the last few years, I’ve sold products for different businesses through my content. But there was a huge part of building a business that I didn’t understand well, like operations and supply chain, which determine whether a company survives.” She wants to go beyond being just the face of a brand, aiming instead to understand “operations, supply chain, unit economics, margins, and all the less glamorous things that actually determine whether a company survives.“
Apoorva Makhija’s journey across reality TV and films
Apoorva Makhija first drew national attention with her explosive run on ‘India’s Got Latent’, before taking her larger-than-life persona to ‘Lock Upp’ Season 2. She also appeared on the reality show ‘The Traitors’, further cementing her reputation as one of the most talked-about faces of India’s creator economy. On the acting front, she made a cameo appearance in Khushi Kapoor’s ‘Nadaaniyan’ (2025).