The year, ladies and gentlemen, is already over, and what a year it has been. The year 2000 is as far as the year 2036. Let that sink in. And while we’ve had some wonderful moments this year- Indian gymnast Deepa Karmakar clinched a gold medal in the Gymnastics world cup and flight lieutenant Avani Chaturvedi became India’s first female fighter pilot. However, with the good, also come the bad and the ugly. And so, we had a few movies that made ZERO sense [pun intended] and totally drove our Battis Gul. So, in this list, we have compiled a list of the few things from our lives in 2018 that we want to leave behind.
1. The Paparazzi’s love affair with Taimur Ali Khan:
Do not get us wrong, we have absolutely nothing against the kid. In fact, we are pretty sure that once he comes of age, uncle Karan would love to cast him in Student of the Year part 12 alongside AbRam Khan. What we do have a problem with, is news channels going gaga every time he gets a diaper change. “What did Taimur eat for breakfast today? Has Taimur lost weight? Ten things that are proof that Taimur is a reincarnation of Raj Kapoor!!!”. You get the drift.
2. Tik tok/ Musically videos:
Remember Dubsmash? That app for people who had nothing to do apart from lip sync to random movie dialogues? Well, meet Tik Tok, its younger, more annoying, god-awful cousin. Tik Tok and Musically are applications used extensively by the “youth” to indulge in the creation of ten second videos which are their screen tests for Yashraj. While some end up being accidentally funny, most are just plain exasperating.
3. The Kiki challenge and others:
Also referred to as the “In my feelings” challenge, the Kiki challenge involved people dancing to the drake song by the same name[In my feelings]. The problem? This had to be done while walking alongside a car, with it’s door open. But hey, we’ve had plenty of such challenges this year. There was Dame Tu Cosita, for example, which involved people copying the rather atypical dance steps of a green alien. Go figure.
4. Karan Johar and his Koffee:
What started as a show many years ago that gave us a glimpse into the lives of movie stars has turned now into Karan Johar’s personal salon. The questions are stale and superficial. Noticeably, while he quizzes his male guests about their work and movies, with most of his female guests, his questions revolve around their personal relationships and the men they’re seeing. All we can say is…Toodles!
5. Priya Prakash Varrier and that wink:
Yes, that was in 2018! The Govinda song “Ankhiyon se goli maare” was brought to life by young lady in South Indian cinema, and how. A video of Ms. Varrier winking went viral quicker than you can spell the term itself. The whole nation went gaga, with people forwarding the clip, which turned out to be from the movie “Oru Adaar Love”. Jokes and memes followed, with people comparing Rahul Gandhi’s famous wink in the parliament to this one.
6. Shitty television shows with really bad storylines:
You thought a show about an “Icchadhari Naagin” [shape- shifting serpent] was bad? Well, so popular was it with our janta that it’s now running into its third season. And that is not all, people. We have shows about “Vishkanyas”, and ghosts who fall in love with humans. Shows that give us hope by trying to deal with social issues like surrogacy or issues faced by the transgender community, but eventually turn into sad love stories/ dramas where the storyline is as strong as a Jew in a concentration camp.
7. Netflix’s addiction with Radhika Apte:
Yes, we are ecstatic that Netflix has finally come to India [but what about Netflix and Chill??]. And it soon emerged that the online streaming portal definitely had a favourite in India. From Lust Stories to Padman, Ghoul and Sacred Games, Radhika Apte was omnipresent. Soon, all of social media was having a field day making memes about how Netflix had signed on the actress for an annual retainer. Making the best of the publicity, Netflix itself released a pseudo poster of a movie called “The Omnipresent” where the actress would play every role in the entire movie. Yes, Netflix, we like her too, but how about a little change in 2019?
8. Never-Ending Wedding receptions:
What started as a trend with Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma getting married in December 2017, had blossomed into a full fledged agenda this year. While some chose to keep it quiet, other chose to celebrate with 312 receptions. Yes, #Deepveer, we are looking right at you. Weddings suddenly turned into a weird flex, with our celebs continuously trying to outdo each other. While Sabyasachi bhaiyya had a field day showcasing his exquisitely crafted lehengas and sarees to the whole world, Priyanka Chopra’s sangeet looked like a huge award function, complete with Nita Ambani sitting in the front row. And while we are talking of the Ambanis, how could we forget the wedding of the century? From getting Beyonce to perform live to Lata Mangeshkar singing the Gayatri Mantra, Mr. Ambani sure showed us who the real royalty is. Want something special for your sangeet? How about Bollywood stars as background dancers?[ While we’re at it, our favourite part was the amount of effort Abhishek Bacchan put into that performance.]
But like we said in the beginning, it has not all been bad. We saw stellar movies like Andhadhun, watched some great stand up comedy thanks to Vir Das, and managed to produce shows like Mirzapur and Sacred Games. So here is hoping that we leave behind some things in 2018, and carry all the good with us. Cheers!!