The Best Indian Pop-Culture Moments Of 2024: Diljit Dosanjh, Hanumankind, 'Tauba Tauba' And More

The best pop culture moments of 2024 were, undoubtedly, created at live music concerts. While people have been conservative about spending on Hindi movies, pricey tickets for artists like Coldplay, Diljit Dosanjh, Dua Lipa, Karan Aujla and many more vanished in seconds.

And the performers, too, brought their A-game.

We got to witness the ‘Beyonceification’ of Sunidhi Chauhan, and surprise collaborations like Ed Sheeran confidently crooning in Punjabi to Diljit Dosanjh’s Lover, Dua Lipa acknowledging the popular internet mash-up of her song Levitating with a song from SRK’s film Baadshah (1999), rapper Hanumankind jamming with Punjabi sensation Karan Aujla—and many more.

With India becoming a hotspot for live gigs, we hope to see many more good times on the music stage next year as well.

On that note, let’s look back at the defining pop culture moments of 2024.

Dil-Luminati Tour

One could argue that when Diljit Dosanjh strutted onto the stage at the Coachella music festival in 2023, screaming ‘Punjabi a gaye, oye!’, he gave us a moment that was impossible to top.

Well, we were wrong.

There’s hardly been a week this year when Dosanjh hasn’t created pop culture gold. From his surprise entry at Ed Sheeran’s Mumbai concert, and appearance on American late-night television, to his gutsy retaliation to authorities playing party pooper at his Dil-Illuminati tour—it’s been a joy to witness his magical year unfold.

All We Imagine As Light At Cannes

Filmmaker Payal Kapadia has broken all sorts of rules this year. She became the first Indian filmmaker in 30 years to win the coveted Grand Prix prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her Malayalam-Hindi film All We Imagine As Light.

The film, which has won two Golden Globe nominations, is now poised for an Oscar nomination as well. But Kapadia and her team already won us over when they brought colour and spunk onto the otherwise stiff Cannes red carpet.

Visuals of the formidable women of AWIAL, actors Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam and Divya Prabha, unabashedly dancing their way to their big premiere singing Kaala Chashma and Mundian Toh Bach Ki Rahi filled us with pride, inspiration and hope. More power to them!

Eda Mone!

How has Malayalam cinema achieved such superior levels of storytelling is a question that is often discussed amongst film lovers outside of Kerala.

This year, Fahadh Faasil’s film Aavesham went further than just sparking an intellectual discussion on its merits—it entered the halls of pop-culture fame. Fans across the country generated volumes of memes and Reels replicating the actor’s popular ‘head dance’ from the movie (the best one was by Australian cricket captain Pat Cummins) or grooving to Sushin Shyam’s banger Illuminati.

Fans who don’t know a word of Malayalam were sporting T-shirts with ‘Eda Mone!’, a popular catchphrase from the film.

Tauba Tauba

One could argue that the biggest Bollywood hit this year, besides Stree 2, wasn’t a film, but a hook step. The moment when Vicky Kaushal magically glided to the line ‘Husn Tera Tauba Tauba’ (sung by Punjabi singer Karan Aujla), it unlocked a level of frenzy that took me back to the hysteria around Hrithik Roshan’s Ek Pal Ka Jeena (1999) hand movement and more recently Naatu Naatu from RRR (2022).

Thanks to choreographer Bosco Martis' complex dance step, which almost looks like an optical illusion, people of all ages risked throwing out their backs to participate in the ‘Tauba Tauba’ challenge, giving us some real comedy gold in the process.

Cringe On Our Phones

With newer content creators infiltrating our phones every other day, we are constantly forced to reframe our understanding of talent and fame. While Orry and Delhi socialite Shalini Passi (from the Netflix reality show Fabulous Wives vs Bollywood Wives) kept us entertained by making us privy to their charmed privileged lives, there are a rising number of creators from smaller towns and cities that have captivated us.

This is the year when a woman from Orissa went viral for asking men about the colour of their chaddis (underwear), after which she was fondly rechristened ‘Chaddi Lady’ by fans. A spiritual guru from Jabalpur called ‘Pookie Baba’ gained a tremendous following for his highly suspect life lessons. And the creators of the animated character Ganji Chudail—a guilty pleasure for many of us, got mainstream fame as brands like Swiggy, Netflix and Nykaa cashed in on its popularity.

India’s Got Latent

In terms of pure viewership, comedian Samay Raina’s YouTube show, India’s Got Latent, a parody of India’s Got Talent, is easily one of the most watched pieces of content in the country across streaming platforms.

On an average, each episode of the modestly produced show clocks 20 million plus views. Though not entirely original in concept, Raina has managed to crack a reality show format that’s struck a chord with the youth for being raw, controversial, sometimes offensive, and genuinely unscripted.

Recent reports claimed that brands don’t want to touch the risque show despite its staggering views. But when you’ve managed to capture so many eyeballs, does it matter?

Big Dawg’s Big Blow Up

Wait a minute, who is Hanumankind? Is he Indian? But why does he sound American?

When Big Dawgs blew up out of nowhere in July, outranking top global hip hop artists, everyone was asking these questions. We soon learnt Hanumankind is originally Sooraj Cherukat from Malappuram in Kerala who has lived and worked across Kerala, Egypt, Houston, Coimbatore, and Bangalore.

The video of Big Dawgs, which has jaw dropping stunts by bikers, was shot inside a maut ka kuan (well of death) not too far from his birthplace in Kerala. Hanumankind’s mixed cultural roots invited a lot of intrigue and racist comments in equal measure, adding to the noise around his breakout success.

To set things straight, the singer clarified that he’s not an Indian rapper... but a rapper from India.