India Features

From Sunny Leone To ‘Hawa Hawa’ From Mubarakan: Here’s What India Was Searching In 2017

It’s the last day of 2017 and Sunny Leone tops Google search trends despite not being allowed to perform in  Bengaluru on this day. And if it’s not her, it’s Baahubali 2, when the world got to know why Kattappa killed Baahubali. As Google notes, the lists are based on search terms that had a high spike in traffic in 2017 as compared to 2016.

Among the top searches for the query ‘near me’ this year, the question about movie timings is second on the list. And if the timings are given, can the movies be far behind?

Among the most searched films this year, it’s unsurprising that Baahubali 2: The Conclusion tops the list. Aamir Khan’s Dangal, that has been making waves in China, is second on the list. Half Girlfriend, the film adaptation of Chetan Bhagat’s novel comes third. Badrinath Ki Dulhani, one of the first few Bollywood films to cross the Rs 100-crore club early this year, is the fourth, followed by Tiger Shroff’s dance musical Munna Michael.

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Incidentally, Baahubali 2 is also one of the most tweeted hashtags this year and the song ‘Saahore‘ is one of the most streamed song too.

Baahubali 2: The Conclusion released in April this year, starring Prabhas, Ramya Krishnan, Rana Daggubati, Sathyaraj, Nasser, Anushka Shetty, and Tamannaah Bhatia. Directed by SS Rajamouli, the film was also the biggest box-office grosser with estimated earnings of over Rs 1,500 crores.

Other movies in Google’s list includes Dangal, Half Girlfriend, Badrinath Ki Dulhania, Munna Michael, Jagga Jasoos, and Raees.

Most Searched Entertainers:

Among the entertainers, the top 10 feature eight women and two men with Sunny Leone topping the list. The 36-year-old actress featured in several songs from big films this year including Raees, Noor, Bhoomi, and Baadshaho. She also played the lead role in a musical romantic film called Tera Intezaar with Arbaaz Khan this year. However, two incidents were the real highlights for Leone’s year – the time she visited Kerala, and the time she wasn’t allowed to visit Bengaluru.

In August this year, Leone visited Kerala’s Kochi city. Thousands swarmed the streets, disrupting traffic, as the Canadian-born came calling to attend a function. The police had a tough time getting the traffic moving as thousands virtually took over the Mahatma Gandhi Road for a glimpse of the actress, who was overwhelmed by the “sea of love”.

The actress’ visit in Kerala also featured as a meme, where she was compared to Daenerys Targaryen, a character from the TV show Game of Thrones.

Early this month, she was barred from performing at a New Year’s Eve event in Bengaluru after a pro-Kannada outfit protested against it. The Bengaluru Police said that they will not be able to offer security, prompting the organisers of the event to move a petition to the Karnataka High Court.

She expressed her displeasure, too, at not being able to perform in the city.

Second on the list is Arshi Khan, a Bigg Boss 11 contestant.

A model and actress, Khan is known for several controversies. One of them includes her claiming to be in a relationship with cricketer Shahid Afridi and lying about being pregnant with his child. This year, she was a contestant in the reality show Bigg Boss and was served with an arrest warrant. She was evicted on December 23 when a drunk video of hers went viral on social media.

Third on the list is another Bigg Boss 11 contestant, Sapna Choudhary. A Haryanvi singer and dancer, she became popular when she took part in the reality show, and increased further when a song teaser featuring her in an upcoming Bollywood film went viral.

Two other contestants from Bigg Boss 11 feature in the list, namely Shilpa Shinde (number seven) and Bandagi Kalra (number 8).

Singer Vidya Vox is at number four. Actress Disha Patani, who has had only one release this year, Kung Fu Yoga with Jackie Chan, is at number five. Actress Sagarika Ghatge, who got married to cricketer Zaheer Khan this year, is at number nine.

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Comedian Sunil Grover, who had a massive public spat with former colleague Kapil Sharma, is at number 6, while Baahubali‘s Bhallaldeva, Rana Daggubati is at number 10.

Most Searched Songs:

While there were some really original songs this year, ‘Hawa Hawa’ from Mubarakan tops the list. It has clocked in over 100 million views so far, considering it was released six months ago.

‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ is a ghazal-qawwali written by lyricist Fana Buland Shehri and composed by the prominent Sufi singer of Pakistan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. It was first performed in 1988 by Khan. But over the years, the song has been remixed and revamped several times. Featuring as number two on the list is the new version of ‘Mere Rashke Qamar’ from Baadshaho, with over 135 million views on YouTube.

‘Dil Diyan Galla’ from Tiger Zinda Hai is on number four, after ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. ‘Dil Diyan Galla’ is sung by Atif Aslam and Vishal and Shekhar.

On number five is ‘Raabta’ from Raabta, a film starring Sushant Singh Rajput and Kriti Sanon. The song went viral considering it was a copy of a song from the film Agent Vinod. Moreover, the song featured Deepika Padukone in a special appearance.

Other songs in the list are ‘Ding Dang’ from Munna Michael‘Kaabil Hoon’ from Kaabil‘Shape Of You’ by Ed Sheeran, ‘Mubarakan’ from Mubarakan, and ‘Mile Ho Tum Humko’ from an upcoming Hindi film called Fever.

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