‘Some comments made me feel molested’: Gen Z Baba on his looks

Nineteen-year-old Vrindavan Bhagwat Katha speaker Shashwat Acharya, nicknamed “Gen Z Baba” after his discourse clips went viral, has said some social-media comments about his looks made him feel “molested” and crossed the boundaries of decency.

Acharya, who describes himself as a young Bhagwat Katha vachak and peethadhishwar of Shridham Goda Vihar Mandir in Vrindavan, drew a flood of attention last month for his curly hair and smile. Internet users called him Gen Z Baba and Pookie Baba; some compared him to Timothée Chalamet and to Mike Wheeler from Stranger Things.

In an NDTV interview with anchor Sikta Deo, he said the praise came with comments that went too far. “Ji, kuch-kuch comments aise hain jinmein humein bahut zyada molested feel hua hai” — yes, some comments made him feel very molested — he said, adding that the boundaries of decency had been “severely overstepped and violated,” Free Press Journal and NewsGram reported from the interview.

Asked whether he now understood what women hear on the street, Acharya said his experience was not even one per cent of what girls face. “Inhone itna bol diya toh humko itna bura lag gaya, sochiye jo ladkiya road pe chal rahi hai unhe kitna bura lagega,” he said — if this much hurt him, imagine how girls walking on the road must feel — and added that “very horrible things” are said about them.

Free Press Journal dated its report Saturday, 7 November 2026. Acharya’s official Instagram following has climbed into the tens of thousands since the clips spread; users online have both defended the 19-year-old and debated the comment culture around him.