India's Meme Culture Heats Up: Viral Moments That Defined 2025 Entertainment
Image Source: Internet
This year, entertainment in India took a massive leap forward, transcending mere viewing and embracing active participation. People eagerly shared, remixed, and referenced various film scenes, song lyrics, and concert moments, catapulting them into meme culture and beyond. Bollywood and Indian shows were at the forefront of this shift, producing some of the most dominant viral moments of the year, while global pop culture fueled the same ecosystem. One of the biggest contributors to this phenomenon was the Bollywood action film Dhurandhar, which became a meme factory overnight. Ranveer Singh's entry sequence sparked the wildly popular 'First Day as a Spy' trend, where creators humorously imagined Indian spies failing missions due to their desi habits. The film's music and visuals also found a second life online, spreading far beyond traditional film promotion. Akshaye Khanna's improvised FA9LA dance was at the center of Dhurandhar's viral afterlife. His spontaneous moves inspired thousands of reels and short videos across Instagram and TikTok, recreated by fans, celebrities, office groups, families, and even sports personalities. The raw spontaneity of the dance, paired with the infectious rhythm and drama of the song, made it endlessly remixable. The Peddi dance from the upcoming entertainer Peddi was another significant contributor to this loop culture. Unlike hyper-polished choreography, this step was deliberately raw, grounded, and almost defiant, made viral by Ram Charan. The Chikiri Chikiri song's promo was released in November 2025, and what made it explode online was how easily it translated across identities: college students did it in hostels, athletes recreated it on fields, and even office workers filmed tongue-in-cheek versions in parking lots. However, not all viral moments were joyful. The Coldplay kiss cam scandal at a Boston concert in 2025 became one of the most viral real-world moments of the year. Frontman Chris Martin joked about the couple's reaction, and the clip quickly spread across social media, drawing millions of views. The incident ignited intense online debate about privacy, workplace relationships, and public judgment, leading to both executives stepping down from their roles amid the controversy. The rise of AI-generated art trends also sparked cultural unease in 2025, particularly with the 'Ghiblification' trend. Creators used AI tools to transform regular images and memes into Studio Ghibli-style illustrations, raising questions about tribute, theft, and the soullessness of algorithmic art. Hayao Miyazaki's stance against algorithmic art added weight to the discussion. Arjun Kapoor became one of India's most searched meme subjects of 2025 after a brief clip from a 2017 press conference resurfaced mid-year and exploded across social media. The clip, which showed Arjun's irritated expression, was remixed into countless GIFs, reels, and reaction images, with meme pages pairing it with dramatic music and humorous captions. The meme frenzy even led Arjun to disable comments on his Instagram as the meme spilled into unrelated posts. Far from fading, the trend became so pervasive that Arjun later leaned into the joke, starring in a light-hearted commercial that riffed on his now-infamous 'angry resting face.' The Monica dance from the Tamil film Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, was another unexpectedly popular dance meme in 2025. Soubin Shahir's spirited and joyful performance in the song Monica captured the internet's imagination, turning him into a breakout online sensation. Lastly, a clip of Jon Hamm dancing with his eyes closed from Apple TV+'s Your Friends & Neighbors resurfaced and spread like wildfire in 2025. The appeal was immediate: confident, joyful, slightly awkward, and deeply human. Indian meme pages embraced it wholeheartedly, and the format evolved into a metaphor for unbothered living, where people didn't need perfection, rhythm, or validation, just the freedom to enjoy the moment.
