Unraveling Celebrities with 73 Questions: Our Take on a Vogue Original!

Why is everyone suddenly talking about the 73 Questions by Vogue? Is it because the recent video of actor Deepika Padukone candidly walking about her New York apartment leaving smart, quick answers about badminton, depression and finally breaking into a few moves, been making some serious waves? Or is it because Vogue’s free-flowing style of getting global celebrities unplugged in their personal spaces connects with viewers more and is undoubtedly fresh. Whatever the reason, the 73 Questions with Vogue definitely can’t be ignored.

Sample this: Joe Sabia, the interviewer visits the houses of celebrities and follows them around with a camera, asking 73 rapid fire questions. In a very candid manner, the celebs reveal significant details about their personal and professional lives and also answer generic questions, all the while being naturally themselves, without the air, we mean!

Here’s our take on why the 73 Questions by Vogue has managed to leave a lasting impression. In the end, it’s the connect, read on!

It is Real.

Far from the sophisticated vestiges of a studio that echoes of lights, camera, and action, or in other words staged, this takes place in the houses of the celebrities themselves. The celebrities interact with the interviewer just as they would with a friend who is a house guest. Hence they are less filtered, more fun, and almost real!

It is Relatable.

The fact that the interviewer is not visible, is the selling point, wherein it gives the impression of the celebrities directly interacting with the viewers, making the former more accessible. As the celebrities answer questions related to their spouses, childhood or personalities, it establishes a connection, as if they are no different from the people next door.

It is Simple.

The adage of the series seems to be ‘keep it simple’. The free-flowing, straight-forward nature of the show, with only rapid-fire questions, makes it all the more attractive. The whole video is filmed in a single-shot.

It is Contemporary.

The style of shooting and projection is very much in tune with the social media age, where celebrities often interact with their fans and followers by showcasing their off-screen images. The 73 Questions seem to pick on exactly that. Also, it is almost like a vlog shot in a phone camera!

It hits the right spot!

Imagine if we could ask 73 odd questions to someone, what would we even ask? The whole context of watching famous people candidly answering rapid-fire questions about their lives, careers and everything in between, has the capacity to undoubtedly hook our attention. Imagine, Victoria Beckham, answering why she doesn’t smile much saying, “I’m smiling on the inside. I feel that I have a responsibility to the fashion community.”

It is Inspiring.

The famous people answering questions about their lives and careers is inspiring.  The celebrities seem to deal with a bunch of spontaneous questions thrown at them with interesting confidence! This shows how the more successful a person is, they are more likely to know the self better. Also given the nature of the show, we get an insight into how a famous, successful person actually lives his/her daily life.

It is Universal.

Called an effort to ‘modernize Vogue by attracting new viewers’; it was the first time Vogue came up with an approach quite different from its signature style back in 2014. The 73 Questions seemed to have managed to live up to the expectations. Most often non-Vogue viewers get to know more about the brand.

The brain behind the series, Joe Sabia says that he came up with this concept on a prompt by Conde Nast Entertainment. He was asked – what video would he make if he had actress Sarah Jessica Parker for a day. He decided that the best approach would be to let the actress be just herself.

“It hit me that the idea I was most excited about was bombarding Sarah Jessica Parker with a totally crazy barrage of personality-quiz questions, in an artistic one-take execution.”

So it began that SPJ was the first celebrity he ever pitched and she loved it! Soon it gained the popularity card as the audience too seemed to love this new style.

“In the end, this is basically the reinvention of an interview. It’s this weird format where you have to watch each video five times to catch all the facts.” Joe Sabia told the Daily Dot.

With 50+ videos till date which have earned more than 9 million views on Youtube, every interview has a certain charm that sticks. But our personal favorite is the  73 Questions with Actress Nicole Kidman, because not only it takes place in her farm in Australia, but also gives us a glimpse into a lesser-known side of this Oscar-winning actress living a farm life far from the Hollywood glam.

It begins with Nicole greeting Joe as she sits in the front steps of her beautiful country mansion. Then as she gives a tour of her house, Nicole Kidman is fairly candid and flawless, answering questions about being a ‘pool shark’ to Nashville, her favorite place in Sydney and getting licked by Australians (as she has her face on the National Stamp)!

Joe then follows her outside, as she walks about collecting eggs, mentioning her six alpaca pets and saying that the best thing about a farm-life is “the simplicity, the air, the peace”. She calls Hollywood a fairly small world and says that finding out that she was pregnant has been the best shock of her life. She also talks about surprising her husband, Keith Urban, with a 1967 Mustang that made him flip and even mimics little quack! Asked what she would advise her 13-year-old self, she says, “Be happy” and adds as if reminding her younger version, “I told you so!”

If you are still not convinced about the 73 Questions, go have a look at Vogue’s best here!