The internet’s latest obsession is the Indian aunty. They’re owning their cringe-coolness, all while ‘looking like a wow’. They were relegated to the attics of auntie-verse for way too long—somewhere close to where boomers were exiled. Now, from Seema aunty to the ‘so elegant’ Jasmeen Kaur to lappu-jhingoor lady—Indian aunties are finally having their day out.
All it took was a West Delhi “designer-wear”-selling aunty. Deepika Padukone to Sanya Malhotra to Yashraj Mukhate, everyone is celebrating the fun that Indian aunties bring.
After being labelled everything nosy to judgmental, they’re enjoying the limelight. Decked out in bejewelled and “designer” suits and western wear, Jasmeen Kaur has perfected the art of online selling. Only now the clothes are not the centre of attention, she is. Her casual, conversational style of speaking, peppered with the same hook — so beautiful, so elegant, wow, wow, wow— had made her an internet darling. Deepika Padukone’s reel lipsyncing to Kaur’s quips has become the actor’s most-viewed reel with 45.3 million views. In comparison, Padukone’s past few reels have not even crossed the 10 million mark.
It’s even made its way into the goverment. Union railway minister showed off the new steam engine doppelgänger on Instagram using the viral audio.
It all started with a routine post by Jasmeen on 9 October, which is now buried deep under almost 400 posts on their Instagram page, @designmachinesuitslive. The comments are filled with people saying they scrolled through the entire page just to get to this one—such is the attention she has garnered. And Kaur knows it. She has leaned into her mannerisms and unique colour names—mouse, ladoo peela, mintery green— to drive up her sales.
Her Instagram handle has blown up, and followers are increasing by the hour, with the latest count being 4.94 lakh followers. Her shop near Tilak Nagar now has queues of people waiting to buy her many ‘wow’ suits.
The phrase which first intrigued the internet as a joke is now being used for humorous compliments. Even Cricketer KL Rahul used the phrase to compliment the latest photo of his wife, actor Athiya Shetty. His comment read: So beautiful …. So elegant… just looking like a woaw!!
Yashraj Mukhate, who became a viral sensation with the song ‘Rasode Mein Kaun Tha ’, also remixed Kaur’s reel. It currently has 2.1 million views on Instagram. But Kaur is only the latest in a long line of Indian aunties who have captured the internet’s attention.
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The influencer route
When news of Seema Haider, the Pakistani woman who crossed borders for her Indian lover, Sachin Meena broke, media outlets swarmed to get a byte from the woman, her lover and even neighbours. One such neighbour, Mithlesh Bhati, shared her take on the two, and it officially became the ‘burn’ of the year.
Mukhate also made a song for her, which has 14.4 million views on Instagram.
And she is now an influencer too.
Since then, Bhati has started her own Instagram account on which she proudly calls herself Aapki favorite The Viral Aunty. She has amassed 1.41 lakh followers. And has even collaborated with popular YouTuber CarryMinati where she roasted him.
Haider, who threatened legal action against Bhati for her comments on her partner, is riding high on her own virality. Her debut film Karachi to Noida, loosely based on the allegations of being a spy, is set to release soon.
The film’s trailer dropped on YouTube four days ago. The movie has completely flipped the script. The fictional Seema Haider is an R&AW agent who was first embedded in Pakistan. When she returned to India, she was accused of being a Pakistani spy.
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The OG aunties
Any article on Indian aunties owning their cringe-cool is incomplete without the mention of Sima aunty aka Sima Taparia. She catapulted to fame with the Netflix show, Indian Matchmaking. With her treasure trove of meme-worthy comments —‘Girl has to be flexible’, ‘Ultimately my efforts are meaningless if the stars are not aligned’, ‘She doesn’t have to marry a poet, She can read a book’— she firmly clinched her place in Indian pop culture.
While most Indians may not recognise the name Somvati Mahawar, her voice was everywhere in 2018. A simple video of her saying ‘hello friends, chai pee lo’ while drinking tea became a viral sensation.
But it’s not just these accidental superstars that are riding the aunty wave.
The bindi and sindoor-wearing Mangalaa Arun from Chikmagalur has amassed a loyal fan base of 2.22 lakh Instagram followers and her reels rack up views upwards of 10 lakh. Her content is geared towards virality—she does transition reels to K-pop songs, dances to trending English songs in her nightie and even has sponsorship deals.
Her highest viewed reel at 23 million views is a transition video from her purple polka dot nightie to a pink saree set to the tune of the 90s hit Mr Boombastic.
But from organically viral videos to content creators celebrating their ‘aunty-ness’, Indian aunties are finally having their time in the ‘laddoo peela’ sun.
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(Edited by Theres Sudeep)