From Theresa May to Adityanath, women and men who made 2018 interesting

While some of these people have inventiveness and courage to see the year through, few chose to be wrongheaded

ELON MUSK

No filter

Elon Musk’s exalted status suffered some blows this year as, tweet by tweet, the SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO gave readers the sense that he was a man in meltdown. It all started when Musk took issue with news articles that challenged Tesla’s performance and, instead of countering with relevant facts or figures, declared plans to launch a service that rated the credibility of journalists and news publications. The intimidation of journalists continued when in another tweet he called a reporter a “pedo” (paedophile), ostensibly because the journalist in question had suggested Musk had been trying to gain mileage by planning to help in the rescue of children stuck in a Thai cave. Notably, he also used Twitter to announce that he had secured funding to take Tesla private, which later cost him and the company $20 million in settlements and led to his removal from the post of chairman.

 

YOGI ADITYANATH

Ram politics

This was the year when Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath decided to paint the town saffron. With broad brushstrokes, he began changing the names of some places in the state, switching their long-standing Muslim-sounding titles with Hindu-origin ones. Thus, Allahabad became Prayagraj in October, and soon after in November, as a “gift” on the eve of Diwali, the CM turned Faizabad district into Ayodhya district. His other promises included an airport named after Rama and a hospital named after Dashratha but no updates followed. Although he justified the relabelling as historical “restoration”, it was recognised as an obvious scramble to restore political support ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

 

MEGHAN MARKLE
Bride and prejudice

 

The former Suits star Meghan Markle’s marriage to England’s Prince Harry this year instantly lowered the stuffiness of the British royal family and raised its cool quotient. For the first time, a diverse set of people were interested in and able to relate to updates from Kensington Palace because not only was the incoming Duchess of Sussex an American and a commoner, but also a woman of colour — making her admission into royalty feel like something of a coup. Markle, who is now expecting a child, became the most Googled person in the UK this year.

VIVEK AGNIHOTRI

Aao list karein

 

He may have made a handful of films but Vivek Agnihotri will be remembered mostly for the creative fiction that he embarked upon this May: the “Urban Naxal”. He coined the term to describe intellectuals, influencers or activists who are the “invisible enemies of India” — an idea he expanded in a book by the same title. As he floated this Carl Schmitt-esque concept on Twitter, it became clear that he imagined anyone critical of the political right to be a part of this grouping. Agnihotri, who at one point even suggested that donations for Kerala flood relief were being routed towards funding Naxal agendas, met with some assent and much ridicule. While he urged his followers to make a list of potential “urban naxals”, a wave of Twitter users began tweeting with the hashtag #MeTooUrbanNaxal. Someone did eventually make a list, albeit with poor Microsoft Excel skills, and this offered further material for jokes. Agnihotri is responsible for such films as Buddha in a Traffic Jam (2016) and Chocolate (2005), the latter purportedly a remake of cult Hollywood film The Usual Suspects.

THERESA MAY

Dancefloor diplomacy

 

This was one international state visit this year that caused a “dance-dance-revolution”. When UK Prime Minister Theresa May matched steps with schoolchildren while in South Africa and Kenya in August, perhaps it was an omen of how the negotiations to get her Brexit deal approved in Parliament would soon falter. May tried to make the best of the situation and used her infamous dance moves again in the opening of her speech in the Tory party conference. It did not take very long for a Twitter account to spring up, which posted the same clip of May dancing over and over again, but with a new song playing in the background each time.

IDRIS ELBA

Nothing to hide
 

 

In a year when a number of idolised males were revealed to be sexual predators or found to have a problematic understanding of consent and harassment, British actor Idris Elba redeemed hope when he commented in support of the #MeToo movement: It “is only difficult if you are a man with something to hide”. For sharing this simple but significant opinion, the much-admired star of The Wire and Luther won praise from the likes of TV producer Shonda Rhimes and Valerie Jarrett, who had been senior advisor to the former US president Barack Obama. Some of his colleagues in show business had less successful hot-takes; Henry Cavill suggested that #MeToo made dating difficult, while Sean Penn said the spirit of much of the movement was to divide men and women.

JUSTIN TRUDEAU

No, prime minister

 

The Indian prime minister, who has made a habit of sharing awkward hugs with heads of state during diplomatic visits, is not alone in offering meme-worthy moments to the internet. His Canadian counterpart, Justin Trudeau, locked himself in a too-tight embrace with Indian culture when he was here in February to invite investments to his country. From enthusiastically performing the bhangra, to donning silky kurtas and sherwanis, he reminded one of the white characters in Indian “crossover” films from the early 2000s. As if to reiterate that trope, Trudeau and his family hung out with Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan. His attempts to soak in the local atmosphere were dubbed “overkill” and, back in Canada, the visit was dismissed as a glorified holiday. Trudeau’s youngest son, Hadrien, however, won fans for openly expressing his boredom during one of the numerous photo-ops by lying flat on the ground.

NICKYANKA, DEEPVEER AND OTHERS

Four weddings...
 

 

This was the year when love and marriage became fashionable again. Not to be outshone by the English royals, several high-profile personalities in India married and flooded Instagram feeds with aspirational photographs. The first among them were actress Sonam Kapoor and entrepreneur Anand Ahuja who were wedded in May. Actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh married in November, followed soon after by stars Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. The biggest wedding of all, however, was the one for which singer Beyoncé flew down to Udaipur to perform. Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, Isha Ambani, tied the knot with Anand Piramal, the son of industrialist Ajay Piramal, in multiple, reportedly nauseatingly expensive ceremonies that were attended, among others, by Hillary Clinton and John Kerry.

PEWDIEPIE

YouTube tug of war

 

Controversial YouTube star PewDiePie’s status as owner of the most-subscribed-to-channel — best known for making profane vlogs about video gaming — was threatened this year as music company T-Series, which uploads film scenes and songs, experienced a big boost in followers. The latter is currently lagging the 29-year-old Swedish man, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, by 1 million subscribers but, according to research by Tubular Labs, adds 120,000 subscribers daily versus PewDiePie’s 20,000. PewDiePie, helped by a few other YouTube stars, launched a campaign to accelerate his channel’s growth through billboards, radio ads, hacking websites to carry messages, and even manipulating internet-controlled printers worldwide to slide out supportive messages. In response, Bollywood stars have requested support for the Indian channel. The tug of war continues.

KARTHYAYINI AMMA

Student of the year
 

 

Anyone who has been hesitating to resolve to pick up a new skill in the coming year must revisit the story of Karthyayini Amma. This great-grandmother from Alappuzha aged 96 aced her “Kerala Literacy Mission” tests, an equivalent of the class IV examination. She scored a total of 98 out of 100, with full marks in the reading and Malayalam tests, and only two marks less in the mathematics exam. Watching her 60-year-old daughter finish her class X education reportedly inspired her, and she plans to match that achievement next. The former temple worker even received a laptop recently after she expressed a desire to enter the cyber-world.29-year-old Swedish man, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, by 1 million subscribers but, according to research by Tubular Labs, adds 120,000 subscribers daily versus PewDiePie’s 20,000. PewDiePie, helped by a few other YouTube stars, launched a campaign to accelerate his channel’s growth through billboards, radio ads, hacking websites to carry messages, and even manipulating internet-controlled printers worldwide to slide out supportive messages. In response, Bollywood stars have requested support for the Indian channel. The tug of war continues.