Rahul Gandhi winked in Parliament. Priya Prakash winked in a film (courtesy LS TV and YouTube)
Highlights
- Rahul Gandhi hugged PM Modi, then went to his seat and winked
- Twitter debates if he winks better than Priya Prakash Varrier
- "Priya Prakash scared for her popularity," read one tweet
With a wink, Rahul Gandhi went as viral as Priya Prakash Varrier on Friday. The Congress president eclipsed all else in parliament, which was debating a no-confidence motion, by first delivering a thunderous speech about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, referring to himself as Pappu and then walking across to PM Modi and giving him a hug. Finally, back in his seat, Mr Gandhi turned to someone in the Congress benches and winked. Social media erupted. Hashtags trended, memes were created, jokes were made, and some disapproving eyebrows raised as well. Many of the said memes co-opted Malayalam actress Priya Prakash Varrier, she of the original viral wink, as an unwitting participant.
It seems, it just so seems, like Twitter thinks Rahul Gandhi out-winks Priya who, just months ago, had a smitten social media crushing on her after a film clip of her winking raced around the Internet.
"Move over Priya Prakash Warrier. The killer wink is here," tweeted one user while another added: "Rahul Gandhi is giving tough competition to Priya Prakash Varrier." Another one added: "Priya Prakash scared for her popularity insecurity after Rahul Gandhi's winking at Lok Sabha." And here's Twitter's verdict: "Rahul Gandhi's wink is actually better than Priya Prakash Varrier's."
Some people couldn't decide and asked for help.
And here are those who thought Rahul Gandhi may just have been "inspired" by Priya Prakash Varrier.
What a day it's been for Rahul Gandhi. PM Modi, caught unawares by the hug, returned it with a pat on the younger politician's back. The lead into the hug-pat-wink was Rahul Gandhi's concluding remarks: "You can call me Pappu, but I don't have a speck of hatred against you." Soon after, hashtags such as #RahulGandhi, 'Pappu,' #RahulHugsModi and #BhookampAaGaya trended furiously, with even a small section of Bollywood declaring tweeting about "Hug Day."
In February this year, the Internet discovered budding actress Priya Prakash Varrier and her wicked winking skills. A video featuring Priya Prakash winking at her classmate in the film Oru Adaar Love trended for days, making the follower count on her Instagram shoot up overnight. Subsequently, she also had her Instagram account verified and now reportedly charges some Rs 8 lakhs per Instagram post.