Mohammed Nagaman Lateef, currently serving as the Talent Head for Balaji Telefilms, is known for steering some of the industry’s most dynamic creative initiatives. Overseeing Hoonur, Balaji’s specialized talent vertical spanning Balaji Motion Pictures, Balaji Telefilms, and Balaji Digital, he has been instrumental in shaping the next generation of artists and performers. Alongside this, he is the founder of the International Iconic Awards and recently launched the first season of his podcast, Honestly, Why Not? with MNL, which premiered in January 2026.

In an exclusive conversation, Lateef reacted sharply to the trending “penguin story” that dominated social media timelines over the last week. In his words, the narrative is nothing more than manufactured emotional bait designed to go viral.

“First of all, I don’t believe this penguin’s story was real,” he said, calling it a cleverly executed digital stunt. “It might be someone’s reel that went viral. In that minus temperature, who has gone and seen a penguin reach somewhere, leave footprints, be found dead—no matter which year it is? This is all a stunt someone has done.”

He added that the creator behind such a video understands human psychology extremely well.
“Whoever has done it has so much mind and knowledge. He knows exactly what reaction people like us will have. But I did not react because that’s not the reality ki penguin chala gaya. Footprints, snow area—snow falls every day. Yeh sab bakwaas reasons hain.”

He questioned the internal logic of the narrative, pointing out how unrealistic it was for a person to be conveniently present throughout the penguin’s dramatic ‘journey’. “In minus temperatures, what was the human doing? Following the penguin? Left gaya, peeche gaya, upar mar gaya—till the penguin died, what was the human doing? Now soon there will be a ‘Part 2’—a man found in a cave who walked with the penguin, the man died, the penguin survived. All nonsense.”

Nagaman stressed that such viral, emotionally loaded stories gain traction because creators tap into people’s emotional voids. “These stories work because people get emotional anywhere and everywhere. This is not new. If someone drunk sleeps on a street, some will say ‘bechara’, some will say ‘acha hua’. Everyone reacts based on their thinking, so we shouldn’t take these things seriously.”

He contrasted the fabricated penguin narrative with other animal-related stories that are believable.
“Monkey things are fine,” he said. “Monkeys are not less than humans. A human is a monkey without a tail. A monkey is just a monkey.”

He also added with characteristic humour, “People celebrate everything. Someone who drinks daily will always find a reason to drink. So celebrating Mud Day or Independence Day doesn’t mean lives are independent or dependent.”

On the broader issue of viral content culture, Lateef was candid: “This penguin thing is just a laugh. A creator or influencer who doesn’t have work has created a story to influence empty-minded people. And these empty-minded people believed it without even thinking what is right and wrong.”