Looking like a wow! News, trends that baffled, cracked up Indians in 2023
The Federal revisits news and social media trends that kept audiences entertained in 2023
If 2023 had its share of miseries, wars and triumphs, it also brought in comic relief through hilarious and outlandish pieces of news and social media trends that tickled the funny bone of audiences and most-importantly – kept them entertained.
Here are a few of them for you to revisit:
Who is Orry?
‘Who is Orry?’ became a million-dollar question that piqued the nation’s interest when photos of a flamboyant young man posing with celebrities – Nita Ambani, Janhvi and Khushi Kapoor, Ananya Pandey Sara Ali Khan, Bhumi Pednekar, Suhana Khan, Nysa Devgn…you name it! – were splashed across social media and Page 3 news.
The internet went bonkers and journalists dialled up their little birdies to know who this mysterious figure was. They found that Orry’s real name was Orhan Awatramani, who as per his LinkedIn profile works as a Special Project Manager at the Reliance Industries Limited chairperson’s office. Media reports say Orry studied at a boarding school in Tamil Nadu’s Dhanushkodi and earned a bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts and Communication Design from Parsons School of Design in New York.
Besides that, Orry’s identity and what he does for a living has been a mystery. He is often seen snapped with Bollywood starkids and his Instagram photos are full of him on a vacation or having a good time. Interestingly, it is not Orry who posts the photos of celebrities with him but the other way round.
So much has been the buzz around him and his source of income that even filmmaker Karan Johar posed the question to actor Ananya Pandey on his celebrity talk show Koffee with Karan.
Orry, however, has managed to keep his occupation under wraps and remains an enigma. Talking about his occupation in an interview with a media house, he had said he “lives” and was thus a “liver”.
Yet it is not easy to dismiss him as yet another celeb friend. Orry had accompanied Reliance heiress Isha Ambani to the Met Gala 2023, wearing a Balenciaga outfit and expensive accessories to match and was seen rubbing shoulders with celebrities like Zendaya and Tom Holland, proving that he is more than just a star kid BFF (Best Friend Forever).
‘So beautiful, so elegant, just looking like a wow’
The expression by now has become a hot trend on social media with every influencer including celebrities using it in their Facebook and Instagram stories and reels.
The expression which has become a popular meme was started by a woman named Jasmeen Kaur who sells salwar suits on Instagram. Kaur, known for her vibrant personality and unique style of salesmanship –for instance, she has her own names for colours and calls yellow ‘laddoo peela colour’ and grey ‘mouse colour’ – in one of the videos used the expression to enthusiastically stress how beautiful an outfit looked.
The twisted grammar of the sentence didn’t stop the social media from lapping up the meme which worked mostly because of Kaur’s carefree nature and infectious energy while selling her mechandise.
While many celebrities like Deepika Padukone made reels using the meme, popular music producer Yashraj Mukhate, who often makes videos on viral trends and memes by lending them music, created a composition on the ‘Looking like a wow’ trend.
Bihar students take exam with no invigilator, dance to Bhojpuri song
If you thought students can blatantly copy during an examination only in films, it can happen in real life too. Netizens were left astounded when a video showed students in a Bihar school have a field day during a biology exam while the classroom door was closed and the invigilator was absent.
While some of the students switched on the LCD TV inside the classroom to play Bhojpuri songs by artist Pawan Singh, others started dancing to it. Those remotely interested in writing the exams were seen copying the answers from their mobile phones.
It was later found out that the incident occurred at a higher secondary school in Bowrisarai village under the Islampur block of Nalanda district, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s home district.
The video, which once again reflected the shoddy state of education in the state, garnered a slew of hilarious posts on X.
“Abhi tak TV sahi salamat hai aur chori nahi hua, ye badi baat hai. Baaki exams to aate jaate rahte hain (The TV is safe so far and hasn’t been stolen, this is a great achievement. Otherwise exams keep coming),” said one user.
Bride chases runaway groom, brings him back to mandap
Indian women are fierce go-getters and a bride in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly literally went the distance to ensure she marries the man she was engaged to.
When told that her boyfriend turned fiancé had developed cold feet just before the wedding, the woman all decked in jewels and wedding finery chased him for 20 kilometres to bring him back to the mandap.
The couple were in a relationship for the past two-and-a-half years and the woman was infuriated when the groom stood her up at the wedding mandap.
She pursued him with vengeance and found him at a bus station outside Bareilly. After two hours of drama, the couple was taken to a temple and wedded with the consent of both their parents.
Wriddhiman Saha’s fashion faux pas
Each one of us is guilty of wearing our garment inside out in a hurry and finding it in the unlikeliest of places or situations. Turns out, even celebrities are not exceptions.
Cricket fans had a rofl moment when Gujarat Titans’ wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha, during the 2023 IPL, walked out to field against Lucknow Super Giants wearing his trousers the other way round.
When the umpires did not allow Gujarat Titans to substitute Saha with KS Bharat, Saha who was not prepared to field, came running out of the dressing room, ostensibly wearing his pants wrong.
The faux pas was noticed by commentators as well as Saha’s colleagues Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Shami and Quinton de Kock who had a hearty laugh over it.