DUBAI, United Arb Emirates – A Filipina working in sales at a pharmaceutical company here has gained TikTok fame for her perfect mimicry of the South Asian accent enjoyed by mostly Indian nationals who obviously don’t feel offended but are actually having a blast seeing her speak English their way.
“In my viral videos, most of those laughing out loud were Indians and Arabians. So, I get this feeling that… ‘Oh my God, they like it!’ I’d ask them why and they’d say, ‘You’re so cute, you are loving our accent,’” said Jennalyn Flores Caisip, 37, of Concepcion, Tarlac, in a mix of English and the vernacular.
Caisip, however, is not without bashers.
“People like the show. It is so unique a talent, they say. But then, of course the others, they say they couldn’t take it. It’s fine because they apparently do not understand what I am doing. So long as I don’t say bad words or bad things about their (South Asian) culture, I’m ok. I respect them (South Asians) and I love their accent,” said Caisip, whose TikTok posts have reached up to two million views. Her Facebook reels have also reached that many views.
Caisip said she is able to mimic the accent perfectly because she has been working with mostly Indian nationals in Dubai for almost 16 years. “I have been able to copy it in a very natural way,” she said.
Some Dubai stand-up comedy acts also use mimicries of the Indian accent as material. Indian-British Kunal Nayyar of “The Big Bang Theory,” critics say, was also instrumental in the 2007 sitcom’s commercial success, running 12 seasons.
The UAE is second home to 3.5 million Indian nationals, according to official statistics.
How it started
It all began one day in June last year when Caisip was speaking in English, but with an Indian accent, to a colleague who was new at work. The conversation was filmed by another colleague.
“I posted that video. I was thinking, and I explained to our newcomer colleague later, that he could better understand me talking to him that way,” said Caisip.
Everyone at work – Indians and Arabians – were laughing hard, she said. “The TikTok video went viral, getting one million views in eight days,” Caisip said. She, from then on, became to be known as “Pinay Indian Accent.”
But there’s a bigger, and deeper, story to this.
Caisip was rushed to a hospital in August of 2022, suffering from a stroke due to fatigue. The incident, which saw her fighting for her life, led Caisip to a calling.
Prior to this, she had done a short film with the all-Filipino, Dubai-based TBON Production as “good-sa-Marites,” where she portrayed a friend of a mom whose daughter was tricked by her boyfriend, and later on another about a “bad Marites,” where she played the role of a villain who devised a ploy trying to break a love affair.
“Bad Marites” went viral with almost 28 million views back in July of the same year.
Caisip, meanwhile, apparently was already stressed out, and so the stroke. She was experiencing severe headache and was throwing up when friends took her to the hospital, straight to the emergency room.
“Half my body was paralyzed. I couldn’t move nor walk. I couldn’t take a bath by myself. I was in diapers. I was in the hospital for three weeks,” she recalled.
Caisip, a healthy lady and gym regular, couldn’t believe what happened to her, and resorted to prayers.
“I said, Lord, please heal me and I’ll make people happy. And so, I was given another chance in life with help from excellent doctors. I needed to move on. I knew I had a mission. Looking back, I realize my purpose is to make people laugh,” Caisip said.
Saleslady
Caisip came from a big family. The eighth of 13 siblings, she competed in declamation contests during grade school. Unable to attend college, she worked as saleslady at a big department store chain. She took a housekeeping vocational course and was a crew at a hamburger chain before she left for Dubai in 2008 where she landed a job as a barista. She also levelled up and obtained a diploma in Social Media Marketing and another one qualifying her to work as nursing assistant.
It was 2011 when, upon finishing her barista contract where she was making just AED1,200 a month, Caisip got a job at the pharmaceutical company as sales staff.
Can’t stop her now
There was no stopping Caisip after that viral TikTok post.
“Why? Because of my fellow overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who follow me on social media, the people who send me direct messages thanking me for helping them with their anxieties and depression, for making them laugh, for making their day complete.
“Because of people dropping by at the pharmacy where I work to have selfies taken with me, hug me tight and thank me; and the brands and restaurants that trust me after seeing me on social media,” said Caisip.
She said these random acts of appreciation, a fulfillment of her existential reason for being, keep her going. —KBK, GMA Integrated News
