2025: the year of flying cars? Well not quite. But even just four months in, it has given us unhinged memes, accidental overnight icons, and crazy fun that kept us all cackling through the madness. From social media influencers who became the ultimate template for every meme possible to celebrities who constituted chaos all the same, this year has once again proved that comedy IS the real currency of the internet. So take a sip of your ganne ka juice (say it with me ‘badaa gilaas, sirf bees rupay ka’), dip your face in some Saratoga water and grab your diamond studded rolexes as we take a ride through all the icons of this year, one by one.
Syncpaglu Uncle
I think you’d probably qualify as a caveman if you haven’t seen that one uncle in a blue kurta dancing to a different song every time he pops on your Instagram For You page. Parveen is a dance tutor from India that went viral for, well, one of his dance routines. A dance routine that Parveen filmed with his crew on the song ‘Tagdi’ has since gone viral, making waves on every imaginable social media platform. From collaborations with brands like Swiggy, Amazon Prime Video and now Nykaa, Parveen has bagged amazing sponsorships. The dance routine weirdly and rather hilariously fits every song or tune you could possibly imagine, from Pink Pony Club and Blank Space to the famous oo ee aa ee and even the background score of Stranger Things. It is the most useful meme template ever. Everyone I know (including me) knows the steps of this routine by heart and can probably do the whole choreography even in their sleep.
Kendrick and Drake (YES AGAIN)
Just when our feeds were hearing the very last faint whispers of ‘a minorrrr’, Kendrick Lamar went all out in his Super Bowl performance and absolutely incinerated Drake. This performance flared up all the theories, jokes and chatter surrounding this drama once again. Kendrick’s cheeky smile became a hilarious meme template used throughout as the ultimate emote. It accurately captures the pure essence of being a hater. His unwavering spirit to never miss a chance to one-up Drake is admirable and he has been praised for his unshakeable and undeterred determination to hatred.
The Beloved Mess Didi
This one might not be the funniest out of the lot but it sure is iconic. Gayatri, running ‘Gayu’s Kitchen’, went viral for posting these adorable ‘what’s on the menu today?’ videos.
She either opens these videos with steaming milk or ‘garam garam doodh’ for breakfast or the ‘pyaare pyaare rice’ that is served for lunch and dinner. The utter simplicity and humility with which she speaks and the wonderful excitement with which she presents all the delicious looking food that is on the menu has won hearts all over the country. The love and passion that she has for her work shines through her eyes. She ends all her videos with a very heartfelt and sweet ‘I love you all’. Amidst all the hate we usually witness on our social media, her videos are such a positive influence. A lot of influencers have since recreated her videos, sharing the menu of their own kitchens while mimicking her. In a timeline full of doomscrolling and snark, Gayu’s Kitchen is the warm thali your soul didn’t know it needed.
Reyansh College of Hotel Management
I have heard the theme song of this college almost a million times now. Even if you wake me up in the middle of the night, I can probably recite the whole thing without fumbling (I’m not proud of that). Their promotional videos showcasing students learning the basics of hotel management like pouring drinks and juggling bottles spread like wildfire on the internet. People impatiently waited for new videos to drop. Everyone was posting on social media on how they wanted to enrol or be associated with this wonderful institution. From remixing the theme song to putting it over the beloved dance routine, this college ruled over everyone’s feed for weeks and weeks.
Before we move on I just wanted to present an honorary mention to Hyderabad international school.
Ashton Hall
Is it just me or does everyone feel like no matter what time they wake up, it’s never enough time and one ends up getting late either way? Well, if you’re anything like me, I would like to introduce you to our saviour—the king who invented the ideal morning routine—Ashton Hall. He went viral on twitter overnight for a morning routine so absurd that it is actually hilarious. Ashton Hall wakes up at 3:52 am every morning and after drinking, and rinsing and dumping his face in some Saratoga water, he takes the bottle out to the balcony to drink some more as he works out for 13 minutes.
He then journals for 9 whole minutes before watching motivational videos on his phone for about an hour. The next order of business is heading for the gym, not to forget the in-between Saratoga water face dump. At the gym, he first takes a dive and after hanging around in the air for about 4 minutes he decides to finally go in for a swim. He completes his workout, another Saratoga water face dump and then after eating a banana he rubs the peel on his face. After having his breakfast, he plans on hitting “ten thousand of something” on an apparent work call. Almost everyone has done their bit in recreating and critiquing this routine. Ashton has humoured all the attention the video has gotten and is actively posting similar content on his page since then.
Urvashi Rautela
How could I not end this article with the most iconic of all? The first woman in Asia to be in on some sort of brain rot every single week. Urvashi Rautela goes viral every other day, be it an offbeat interview, a French monologue, or her alleged love triangle with both Ronaldo and Messi. This started when the music video of her song Dabidi Dibidi from the film Daaku Maharaj was released. The extremely off-putting and unpleasant moves caught everyone’s eye. Her obsession with the box office collection added more fuel to her virality on social media. When asked to speak on a recent attack on a bollywood star, she completely went off topic and started talking about the gifts she received for her movie’s success. The gifts were a diamond-studded Rolex from her mother and a mini watch from her father for her film crossing over 105 crores at the box office. The interviewer just sat there dumbfounded as Urvashi kept on explaining the details of her blockbuster film. Urvashi received a lot of flak following this interview and issued an apology for the same. She apologised for making the answer about herself by making the apology too about herself.
And that’s a wrap on 2025’s icons we’ve witnessed till now—bless the internet for never letting us have a normal year. From meme lords to accidental legends, these chaotic heroes carried us through the madness one laugh, cringe, or deeply relatable meltdown at a time. Here’s to them for making this year undeniably iconic with just four months in!
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