Decoding the Orry phenomenon: Who is Bollywood’s BFF? What’s his claim to fame?

He has been seen hobnobbing with politicians, billionaires and Bollywood stars. He was a wildcard entry on Bigg Boss. He is papped at every party, every high-profile event in Mumbai, rubbing shoulders with star kids like Nysa Devgn and Janhvi Kapoor. He has been described variously as Bollywood’s BFF, a mystery, a social activist (spoiler: he’s not), one of the original Ask.fm celebrities, a fashionista and – in his own words – a “liver” who loves to live life. In short – he’s everywhere.

So who is he?

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will have guessed by now that we are talking about Orhan Awatramani, better known as Orry.

Despite his larger-than-life presence – you can barely open social media without coming across a photograph of Orry, posing with Deepika Padukone or Shubman Gill – very little is actually known about the man himself. Here’s our deep-dive into the enduring enigma that is Orry.

The OG Ask.fm celeb

Around 10 years ago, the name Orry kept cropping up repeatedly on Ask.fm. Perhaps the origin of the Orry phenomenon can be traced back to that time.

For the uninitiated, Ask.fm was a website where people could ask questions anonymously. About a decade ago, it was very popular in certain circles of high-society Mumbai schoolkids. Celebrities like Alaya F, Shanaya Kapoor, Ahaan Panday, Radhika Seth etc were known to have profiles on the forum.

At that time, Orry was already friends with the star kids that he is regularly photographed with today. Among his friends he also counted Vidhie Mukerjea, daughter of Indrani Mukerjea.

Childhood and education

Orry is the son of Mumbai-based businessman Suraj Awatramani and his wife Shahnaz Awatramani. He has an elder brother named Kabir, who is reportedly based in New York.

Interesting aside: on one episode of Koffee with Karan, actress Kiara Advani revealed that Orry used to be her junior in school, while his brother was her classmate.

But what school did he attend? In an interview with MensXP, Orry said: “I’ve studied all over the place. I’ve studied in Bombay. I’ve studied in Tamil Nadu. I’ve studied in Connecticut. I’ve studied in New York. I’ve studied in London. I think I may have even studied in Canada. But I consider myself as a graduate from the school of life.”

One thing we can ascertain: He did spend some time at a boarding school in Kodaikanal. “Most people think I was born and lived my whole life in Bombay. I actually grew up in the southern foothills of India, Kodaikanal. It’s really cute. Like it’s really random and it’s really small and there’s not much there. We had one pizza place, like a pizza shack or pizza hut or something like that. And one coffee place and that was about it,” Orry said.

Orry aka Orhan Awatramani also holds a Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts and Communication Design from New York's prestigious Parsons School of Design.

What does Orry do?

Is Orry famous for being famous? Possibly.

In a viral interview with Cosmopolitan, Orry said he works “very hard” – but not at a 9 to 5 job. “I am working on myself. I am going to the gym, I am doing a lot of self-reflection, sometimes I do Yoga, I go for a massage, I am working, but I am working on myself,” he said.

For some time, he was described as a social activist. He has already put that speculation to rest. “I was really bored one day and I put “activist” on my Instagram bio for like four days, just for fun,” he clarified to Cosmopolitan.

But there are certain roles he plays with aplomb. “I'm a singer, a songwriter, a fashion designer, a creative director, a stylist, an executive assistant, a shopper, and sometimes a football player,” he has said.

Orry: the brand, the phenomenon

Orry admits that he is building a brand, but contrary to popular perception, his brand is not about luxury (despite the fact that he’s always spotted in designer gear).

“To me, the Orry brand means ‘I do what I want’,” he told Brand Equity in a recent interview. When Orry joined Bigg Boss, he got messages of disbelief from people.

“I got a lot of comments saying, ‘I’m disheartened; your brand is meant to be luxury,’ and I’m like, ‘No babe, my brand is what I want’,” he says.

He is also refreshingly honest about the things that bring him attention. “If you say one picture with a celebrity that grabbed people's attention, then yeah, I went to Kylie Jenner's house for my birthday and we put up a picture together, and that put me on the map,” he said in one interview.

And more recently to Brand Equity, he said: I have had the honour, privilege and blessing of having a few best friends in Bollywood and I value them for sharing their spotlight with me.” He gave a special mention to Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor and their father, film producer Boney Kapoor.

He did add a disclaimer: “But my incredible network is not the only reason I’m here. Otherwise, any celebrity’s best friend could be where I am.”