What Kept India Scrolling in 2025: Instagram’s Year-in-Review is Here..

Varahimedia.com,Decenber,15,Mumbai,2025:Instagram has released its 2025 Year-in-Review, offering a comprehensive look at the people, moments, and trends that defined Indian digital culture throughout the year. The review highlights a year filled with unpredictable events, the globalization of Indian culture, the continued dominance of cricket, and the rise of nostalgia-driven and aesthetic trends.

Cricket’s Instagram Takeover

Cricket cemented its position as the central pillar of Indian pop culture, dominating conversations and national sentiment on Instagram. Key highlights included:

• Champions Trophy Victory: India’s win sparked widespread patriotic celebration across the platform.
• RCB’s Triumph: The chant “Ee Sala Cup Namdu” (This Time the Cup is Ours) became a viral meme after fans finally saw the Royal Challengers Bangalore team triumph.
• Virat Kohli’s Retirement: The legendary cricketer’s emotional retirement from Test cricket generated massive engagement.
• Women’s World Cup Glory: The Indian women’s cricket team’s victory at the World Cup was a massive moment of celebration.

Kolhapuris to Coachella: Cultural Crossover

2025 was marked by a significant two-way cultural exchange:

• Exporting Culture: Indian talent, including Hanumankind (performing at Coachella), Shah Rukh Khan, Kiara Advani, and Diljit Dosanjh (attending the Met Gala), made global headlines. Furthermore, luxury brands embraced the Indian Kolhapuri chappal, and music tracks by artists like A.R. Rahman helmed international runway shows.
• Global Fandom: Indians actively engaged with international events and fandoms, generating excitement around Ed Sheeran’s India tour, the viral Nicki Minaj pose, Taylor Swift’s engagement, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s engagement.

Aesthetics and Nostalgia Define the Feed

The cultural trends of nostalgia and aesthetics continued to shape feeds:

• Nostalgia Wave: Fandoms grew around classic movies like Wake Up Sid, beloved characters such as Bunny from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, and iconic songs like “Nadaan Parinde” from Rockstar.
• Lo-Fi Aesthetic: The lo-fi, digi-cam aesthetic was highly prevalent in both Carousels and Reels, adopted widely by Gen Z and young adults.

The People Who Kept Instagram Buzzing

A range of individuals captivated the nation’s attention, including:

• The girl who resembled Mona Lisa at the Mahakumbh.
• Ayush, the boy who famously mispronounced “croissant” as “Prashant.”
• Sonali, the mehendi artist from Kolhapur who recreated Rihanna’s wedding makeup look.
• Sudhanshu Shukla, who became the first Indian to travel to the International Space Station in 40 years.
• Comedian Samay Raina, and the show India’s Got Latent, who maintained high buzz throughout the year.

Micro-Moments That Kept Us Scrolling

Daily life was punctuated by viral micro-moments and trends, including:

• Actor Veer Pahariya’s viral ‘langdi’ hook step.
• The widespread debate surrounding the 90-hour work week.
• Popular snippets and discussions from Shark Tank India 4.
• A viral moment from the Coldplay concert that drew millions of eyeballs.
• The trend of ‘fake wedding’ parties and the fascination with Labubus.
• The glowing turmeric trend, and the popular “Vishal Mega Mart” meme.
• Actor Parineeti Chopra’s “meri body main sensations” dialogue from the movie Hasee Toh Phasee.
• The popularity of 5120×1080 ultra-wide thin reels.

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