Here are 10 showbiz moments that stand out in Twitter's 2015.
Aamir Khan. So Much Aamir Khan:
Actor Aamir Khan is a man of few tweets. Until the second week of December 2015, his timeline had only 70 posts from him - one of them blank - and he routinely goes days, weeks and months without tweeting at all. That is not to say he doesn't inspire tweets and trends - this year, the 50-year-old star was India's favourite entertainer to discuss on the microblogging site and very little of it was flattering. At the beginning of 2015, Aamir's criticism of the controversial AIB Roast prompted a mini-debate over free speech and whether Aamir had forgotten his own provocative films Delhi Belly (he produced) and PK (he starred). In November, Aamir trended for 48 hours at a stretch after saying that his wife Kiran had suggested they leave India because of rising 'intolerance.' Twitter instantly took exception and for an entire day, the actor was the top Indian trend with actors like Rishi Kapoor and Anupam Kher leading the charge against him.
Mr.&Mrs. Amir Khan. When things are going wrong and the system needs correction,repair it,mend it.Don't run away from it. That is Heroism!
- rishi kapoor (@chintskap) November 24, 2015
Dear @aamir_khan. Did you ask Kiran which country would she like to move out to? Did you tell her that this country has made you AAMIR KHAN.
- Anupam Kher (@AnupamPkher) November 23, 2015
By the evening, the trend had shifted in his favour with supporters insisting he had the right to express his opinion. In the months between, Aamir also made showbiz headlines by tweeting a casting call for a film, the response to which was so overwhelming that it crashed his office server, and he also trended more than once because of what seems to be a pathological inability to hold back tears while watching a film - he cried in Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Kalki Koechlin's Margarita, With A Straw and nephew Imran Khan's Katti Batti, providing Twitter's resident humorists with some of their best material. Since it appears he cannot stop crying, expect more waterworks in 2016.
Aamir Khan about to drown in his own tears pic.twitter.com/uNFwo5Cjn2
- Champ McLovin (@BolshoyBooze) August 24, 2015
Kiran Rao: I want to tell you something Aamir Khan: I am all tears
- Gautam (@gautamverma23) August 24, 2015
Aamir also participated in a massive three-way Khans-only exercise (more about that below) and tweeted the first look of his own work-in-production Dangal.
- Aamir Khan (@aamir_khan) September 21, 2015
The Khan-to-Khan Network:
In a stunning PR win for Bollywood, Salman got his Khan bhaijaans Shah Rukh and Aamir to reveal the semi-first look of his new film Bajrangi Bhaijaan on Twitter. It was both affirmative action for the 'brotherhood' (apparently better than heropanti) between SRK and Salman, who had only recently concluded a six-year feud, and also a monumental reaping of the benefits offered by the social media following of Bollywood's ruling trifecta - between them, SRK and Aamir have 31 million fans on Twitter. It might have been sheer magnanimity, it might have been clever spin doctoring - whatever the motivation, it was a massive break from protocol and one that proved very effective.
I believe Being a brother is bigger than being a Hero. 'Bhaijaan' coming Eid 2015. How do u like the first look? pic.twitter.com/r1OZYLCVhX
- Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) May 26, 2015
Caitlyn Jenner Gets Star Billing:
She scored a million followers within four hours of joining Twitter on June 1, breaking the record set by Barack Obama last year by an hour. Her very first tweet was of the Vanity Fair cover on which she had debuted her new self - transgender Olympic champ Caitlyn Jenner, formerly known as Bruce - and the hashtag #CallMeCaitlyn trended worldwide almst instantly. The athlete-tuned-TV-personality write in her second tweet: "I'm so happy after such a long struggle to be living my true self. Welcome to the world Caitlyn. Can't wait for you to get to know her/me." It was a glorious moment for both the transgender community and social media.
- Caitlyn Jenner (@Caitlyn_Jenner) June 1, 2015
With Friends Like These:
In May, Salman Khan was convicted in the hit-and-run case and sentenced to five years in jail by a Mumbai sessions court. The aam aadmi cheered the verdict on Twitter while the actor's friends closed ranks. Some pro-Salman tweets caused particular outrage - jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali and singer Abhijeet were eviscerated for tweets such as these:
It's like penalising a train driver because someone decided to cross the tracks and got killed in the bargain. #salmankhancase
- Farah Khan (@FarahKhanAli) May 6, 2015
Suicide is crime so is sleeping on footpath..80% homeles film ppl strugld achievd stardom but never slept on footpath @BeingSalmanKhan
- abhijeet (@abhijeetsinger) May 6, 2015
In December, the Bombay High Court ruled that Salman could not be convicted on the basis of evidence produced. This time, Bollywood was mostly silent.
Ranveer Loves Twitter. The Feeling is Mutual:
Bollywood's most flamboyant star has a rep to protect and Ranveer Singh, true to form, created a reality Twitter show by 'live tweeting' from the operating theatre. In April, Ranveer required surgery after injuring his shoulder on the sets of new film Bajirao Mastani and carefully recorded a log of his hospital time:
Live tweet from the operation theatre !! pic.twitter.com/jVud7qKFOL
- Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 4, 2015
About to get knocked out!
- Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 4, 2015
Half an hour within his first tweet, he signed off:
He injected my neck ! Whoa! !
- Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 4, 2015
And this was Twitter's response to Ranveer Baba's 'whole new level of crazy":
@RanveerOfficial omg!!!! Baba you just reached a whole new level of crazy!!! Get well super duper soon
- Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) April 4, 2015
@RanveerOfficial get well soon Ranveer!!! Love and healing
- Dia Mirza (@deespeak) April 4, 2015
AIB Roast, Neither Rare Nor Medium But Very Well Done:
Comedy collective AIB organised and executed India's first ever 'roast,' with Gunday co-stars Arjun Kapoor and Ranveer Singh as the subjects and filmmaker Karan Johar as the 'roastmaster.' In January, they released an edited version of the event on YouTube, where it was widely watched. It was also widely debated online, with Twitter almost equally divided over whether the Roast was funny or offensive. Several trending hashtags were spawned from the relatively tame '#AIBRoast' to the more explicit 'We Stand By AIB Knockout' and 'AIB National Shame.' Days later, AIB took the Roast offline. Ranveer and Arjun maintained a stoic silence on Twitter as did actress Deepika Padukone who was made the butt of several jokes. KJo and actresses Sonakshi Sinha and Alia Bhatt, who also got picked on, made oblique references to the Roast in these tweets:
So nice to see twitter is filled with such angels who point out hypocrisy n never use foul language n have nvr laughed at dirty jokes (haw)
- Sonakshi Sinha (@sonakshisinha) February 3, 2015
Some "not taking life so seriously" lessons are needed. DESPERATELY!!!!
- Alia Bhatt (@aliaa08) February 3, 2015
Not your cup of tea...don't drink it!!!
- Karan Johar (@karanjohar) February 3, 2015
Rishi Kapoor Retires From Twitter. Oh, Wait...
Rishi Kapoor, an agent provocateur of sorts on Twitter, has to frequently explain his jokes to those who don't get his humour and often complains about people taking everything too seriously. On May 7, the 63-year-old actor decided he'd had enough and announced he was retiring from the microblogging site.
Hi. Thought about it.Too much negativity abusive language and disregard for seniors. Will retire from Twitter coz it has only given me grief
- rishi kapoor (@chintskap) May 7, 2015
"Chintu Uncle, please don't! We love having you on Twitter," wrote actress Sonam Kapoor in response. In a half a day, Mr Kapoor had ended his self-imposed retirement - but it wasn't Sonam's pleading that made him change his mind. He returned courtesy a mysterious somebody named Sajid.
Sajid.You are responsible for my coming back.Tweeple.If I do anything wrong lynch this man Sajid. Thank you Twitter for welcoming me.Touched
- rishi kapoor (@chintskap) May 8, 2015
Dear James Bondji, Why so Unsanskaari?:
Among the more hilarious hashtags this year was the one that Twitter thought up when the Censor Board chopped James Bond's kissing scenes by half in the new film SPECTRE. #SanskariJamesBond trended blithely for over 24 hours, raising everyone's spirits with mirthful suggestions on how the hard-drinking, womanising 007 could best adapt to desi standards of acceptable behaviour (acceptable by the Censor Board).
Here are a few of the best ones. It's okay, you can ROFL:
#SanskariJamesBond Played by Alok. Nath Nath Seven.
- Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) November 18, 2015
#SanskariJamesBond has a small idol of Ganeshji on the dashboard of his Aston Martin
- Atul Khatri (@one_by_two) November 18, 2015
I'll have nimbupaani; Shaken, not stirred! #SanskariJamesBond
- Professor (@BeerOholic) November 18, 2015
Bae: No one's home * #SanskariJamesBond sends security guards to protect her*
- Khayali Pulav (@dekhbhaidek) November 18, 2015
The Dress That Sonam Kapoor Wore:
Poor Sonam's usually faultless instinct for fashion appeared to have deserted her during her final appearance at this year's Cannes Film Festival. She glided down the red carpet in a giant sorbet-coloured Elie Saab dress which the Internet decided it hated from the bottom of its virtual heart.
#TheDress reminded Twitter of Sesame Street's Big Bird, Cousin Itt from The Addams Family, grass and even Sonam's famously hirsute father Anil Kapoor.
Close enough, Sonam Kapoor pic.twitter.com/4HvYacVHG7
— Ripper (@Ace_Of_Pace) May 19, 2015
Love your new dress @sonamakapoor! You're looking so pretty here! pic.twitter.com/W8UhfmHRqK
— Sahil Shah (@SahilBulla) May 18, 2015
They said I could be anything, so I decided to be grass. pic.twitter.com/5UYJJa9Lj5
— LJ (@lovejihadi) May 19, 2015
Sonam Kapoor's Dress Was Made Off Anil Kapoor's Hair. ;) #Cannes2015 pic.twitter.com/waXKbXCKDJ
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadeja) May 18, 2015
Twitter Wears Black For McDreamy and Jon Snow:
The TV-watching world was dealt two blows this year. In April, Grey's Anatomy fans were left devastated when Dr Derek Shepherd was rudely killed with no warning. The death of McDreamy, as he was called, prompted a huge outpouring of grief.
Literally!! 10 years of my life, HALF of the time I've been on this earth WASTED in one hour!! #GreysAnatomy pic.twitter.com/oBxZd0SXno
- Nella Zuniga (@ornellazuniga) April 24, 2015
I will never get emotionally attached to a TV show ever again #GreysAnatomy
- Clawww (@claaaremonro) April 24, 2015
I am screaming at my tv and crying I DONT EVEN WANNA WATCH THIS SHOW ANYMORE!!!!! #GreysAnatomy
- Natalie Eshaya (@NegativeNatalie) April 24, 2015
Twitter had barely recovered when, in June, one of the most popular characters on Game Of Thrones was flatlined in the season finale. Jon Snow's brutal and unexpected murder led to a series of conspiracy theories and fan speculation that the character would somehow be resurrected in the next season, but not before Twitter had spiralled into deep mourning with tweets such as these:
Im still upset about Jon snow dying. Game of thrones done us wrong with that uno
- drea (@reejoness) June 16, 2015
If Melisandre doesn't bring Jon Snow back to life I swear I will be in a forever depression like omg #crying
- Mollie Monroe (@molliejoxo) June 15, 2015
I'm pretty sure I'm crying more over Jon Snow's death than I did for the Red Wedding #GameofThrones
- Elizabeth (@e_mariieee) June 15, 2015