This seems to be the week for puzzling hashtag. After the random #JCBKiKhudayi took over Twitter earlier this week, another viral hashtag has left most of the country confused. The hashtag #Pray_For_Nesamani began to trend on Wednesday, and has topped the trends list on Twitter all through this morning. But who is Nesamani? And why is everyone, including celebrities, suddenly praying for him?
Well, Contractor Nesamani is a character from a 2001 Tamil film called Friends. Played by popular Tamil actor Vadivelu, Nesamani is a building contractor who struggles with his bumbling assistants in the movie. In one scene, he is hit by a hammer dropped by one of his employees - and this is the scene that has led to a thousand memes.
But how did a scene from 2001 go viral 18 years later?
It all started when a Facebook meme page posted a picture of a hammer and asked its followers what the tool is called in their country. One Vadivelu fan quickly connected the hammer to the Friends scene and responded saying that Contractor Nesamani was injured by it. Another fan, in on the joke, mockingly wrote, "Is he ok?"
From there, the #Pray_For_Nesamani hashtag snowballed into a major trend, inspiring hundreds of memes not just from Tamil Nadu but from across the country. Celebs soon joined the in the fun too, paying their tributes to Nesamani and making the trend really take off.
என் இனிய நண்பன் நேசமணிக்கு எனது மஞ்சள் நிற டர்பன் மீது அதீத பிரியம் உண்டு. இன்று மட்டும் அவன் அதை அணிந்திருந்தால்...ட்ச்! மீண்டு வா நேசா! #Pray_For_Neasamani 💛 pic.twitter.com/zGfVbwwrGM
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) May 30, 2019
There were three guys always plotting against Neasamani. First, they carried him on the bed while he's sleeping and beat him.
— George Vijay Addict (@VijayIsMyLife) May 29, 2019
Second, one of them deliberately dropped a hammer on his head.
Third, they tied his legs with rope and slid him along the ground. #Pray_for_Neasamani pic.twitter.com/yA2QEamXkf
CCTV footage found, shocking! #Pray_for_Neasamani pic.twitter.com/5izO94sBe5
— Singai GRamachandran (@RamaAIADMK) May 30, 2019
Breaking news - FBI team has arrived in India to arrest Kichunamurthy. #Pray_for_Neasamani #ArrestKrishnamurthy #JusticeForNesamani pic.twitter.com/ZUYbcrugVV
— Comedian Praveen (@Funny_Leone) May 29, 2019
Affectionate 🔔 #Pray_for_Neasamani
— Sanjay Subrahmanyan (@sanjaysub) May 30, 2019
Get well soon #Nesamani #Pray_for_Neasamani pic.twitter.com/bCRoQPbF3n
— C V Kumar (@icvkumar) May 29, 2019
In fact, the #Pray_For_Nesamani hashtag has become so popular and so widespread, it has even led to the emergence of fake health bulletins from Apollo Hospital:
#Pray_for_Neasamani
— கான்ட்ரெக்டர் மாட்டுக்கறி வெறியன் (@Syed_Jigathi) May 29, 2019
Apollo hospitals has issued press release about Contractor Nesamani's pic.twitter.com/og8woG1w7d
#Nesamani #Prey_For_Nesamani
— ༒Iαᴍ ♛Viήⱥℽⱥk♛༒ (@Vinayak85503577) May 30, 2019
All the super heros around The Apollo hospital 🙏🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/6iHWetz7f7
Which #Pray_For_Nesamani meme did you like best? Let us know using the comments section.
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