Curtains fall on 2024

A celebration of democracy

The biggest political event of the year was the Lok Sabha Elections, where the BJP won 240 seats, coming down from its earlier tally of 303 it won the last time. The Congress meanwhile won 99 seats. Overall, the NDA got 293 seats, while the Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc won 234 seats. 

The Opposition called the results a mandate against the BJP and its popular faces Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Yogi Adityanath. A major blow to the BJP was also the fact that it lost the seat of Faizabad in UP, where in Ayodhya, the Modi govt had overseen the opening of the grand Ram temple in January this year. 

Bonds broken

The Supreme Court earlier this year struck down the electoral bonds scheme as ‘unconstitutional and manifestly arbitrary’. The scheme provided blanket anonymity to political donors, as well as critical legal amendments allowing rich corporations to make unlimited political donations.

However, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had a different view and the BJP leader went on to say at a media event that the 'bonds scheme should have ideally been improved' rather than done away with totally.

Parliament: Row over ONOE, Waqf Bill, Ambedkar

The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Indian Lok Sabha in August, much to the chagrin of the Opposition and Muslim-led parties. A JPC was formed later to deliberate on the bill, whose tenure was extended for more discussions.

The ONOE bill was introduced in Lok Sabha in December. While a vote took place with 269 members supporting the move and 198 against it, a 39-member JPC was formed for further examination.

Amit Shah's comment on Ambedkar, meanwhile, triggered a massive row in Parliament. The Opposition latched on it and demanded the BJP leader’s resignation. But what followed was even more dramatic, with a melee in the Parliament premises amid protests, with two BJP leaders getting hospitalised afterward.

India bids adieu to Manmohan Singh

India ended 2024 on a sombre note as the nation saw the passing of its former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on December 26.

Tributes poured in from across the world over the loss of India's economic reformer. But even the quiet and resilient statesman could not escape controversy in his death as the Congress locked horns with the BJP over carrying out Singh’s last rites at the Nigambodh Ghat instead of at a designated spot that could later become his memorial.

NDA sweep Maharashtra, Haryana, I.N.D.I.A. bag J&K

Maharashtra saw elections held in November to elect all 288 members of the state's Legislative Assembly. While two parties—NCP and Shiv Sena—had split over a period of two years in 2022 and 2023, the ruling Maha Yuti alliance secured a landslide victory, winning 235 seats. What followed was a closely watched drama over the CM face, until Fadnavis emerged as the ‘chosen one’ and Eknath Shinde had to suffice with being his deputy.

In Haryana too, the BJP enjoyed the spoils as the Congress was left questioning the reliability of EVMs.

Meanwhile, the National Conference (NC) emerged as the single largest party in Jammu and Kashmir with 42 seats and formed the next government in the Union Territory with its alliance partner Congress, which bagged six seats.

Siddu’s MUDA troubles

Troubles mounted for Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah after the state Governor sanctioned his prosecution over alleged irregularities in site allotment by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA).

The row pertains to the allotment of compensatory land parcels to Siddaramaiah's wife. As of now, the state Lokayukta police have received an extension till the end of January to file their probe report in the case.

Graft charges haunt Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, was arrested from his residence by the Enforcement Directorate in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, on March 21.

The AAP convenor was again arrested by the CBI in the excise policy case in June, just before his plea against a High Court stay on bail granted to him by a lower court was to be heard by the Supreme Court. Kejriwal was granted bail by the Supreme Court in September and released from Tihar jail where he was in judicial custody.

Soren to jail and back

Hemant Soren, the JMM executive president, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 shortly after he resigned as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand over charges of corruption in a land scam case in Ranchi.

Soren became the CM again after the High Court granted him bail in June. Soren finished the year on a strong note, returning to power in November after winning the Assembly elections in the state.

Manipur still burning

With ethnic conflict in Manipur nearing two years, the National People's Party (NPP) withdrew support from the state's BJP-led government, alleging that the N Biren Singh administration failed to resolve the crisis and restore normalcy.

Biren Singh on Dec 31 said that he was 'sorry' for all that had transpired and hoped for a harmonious 2025.

Rage among rescuers

The rape-murder of a woman doctor in the premises of Kolkata’s R G Kar hospital in August caused widespread anger among the public, and while the horrific crime shouldn’t have been given a political colour, the state's ruling TMC and opposition BJP engaged in mudslinging where the former was accused of shielding the culprits. Agitating doctors took to the streets for close to two months. 

Much ado over laddoo

Allegations of the presence of “animal fat” in the laddoos served as 'prasadam' at Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh sparked a massive controversy. The Centre too weighed in, with Union Health Minister J P Nadda seeking a report on the matter from the state government. Andhra deputy CM Pawan Kalyan even undertook an 11-day penance to atone for the alleged sins committed by the previous YSRCP regime at Tirumala.

Redefining crime

Three new criminal laws came into effect in the country this year, bringing far-reaching changes in India's criminal justice system. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) have been touted by the Modi govt as updated legal codes that factor in current social realities and modern-day crimes. The Opposition and critics, however, aren't too convinced.

The new laws replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, respectively.

Trumping all odds

The much-awaited US Presidential elections took place in November with the Democrats picking Kamala Harris after Biden's exit from the race and the Republicans putting forth former president Trump as their candidate. Despite the Democrats' best efforts, Trump, having survived an assassination attempt, swept the polls, becoming the first US President-elect to be convicted of felony charges.

West Asia teeters on brink

The effects of the Israel-Hamas war spilled across West Asia this year, with Iran and Lebanon-based Hezbollah joining in. Pagers exploded, missiles were exchanged, militant leaders were killed, and ultimately a ceasefire was signed between Israel and Hezbollah, but Gaza had no such luck. After over a year of war, and having lost nearly 50,000 people to Israeli attacks, Gazans now face a new enemy: famine.

A new dawn for Syria?

The civil war that had plagued Syria since 2011 finally came to an end on December 8 when the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, was overthrown by rebel forces, bringing an end to his two-decade rule.

As Assad and his family fled to Russia, Syrians celebrated and rebel factions came together to form a new administration. But, will this new ‘government’ bring a new beginning for Syria or is it fated to repeat the mistakes of the past regime? Only time will tell.

People's mandate

2024 saw political dynamics changing across the world, with more than 60 countries going to polls—almost half the world's population.

The UK finally saw a change, with the Labour Party coming back to power and the Conservatives led by Rishi Sunak faring poorly in the polls.

Power also changed hands in crisis-hit Sri Lanka after the defeat of President Wickremesinghe and the victory of far-Left party National People's Power led by Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

South Africa, Japan, France, Russia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan were among the dozens of countries that went to polls.

1,000 days of war

The Russian offensive against Ukraine which began on February 24, 2022, crossed 1,000 days this year. Despite both countries suffering heavy casualties, talks that should have pivoted towards peace have instead gravitated towards authorisation to use long-range weapons.

Earlier in the year, Ukraine mounted a massive offensive against Russia, sweeping up swathes of land in the Kursk region before assassinating the chief of Russia's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops. However, Ukraine could lose its gains soon, with 12,000 North Korean troops joining the fray to aid Moscow.

Hasina ousted

India's neighbour Bangladesh saw a major shake-up this year after Sheikh Hasina returned to power following general elections in January.

Hasina's victory, however, was shortlived, as a Supreme Court decision to reserve jobs for relatives of veterans of the 1971 war sparked widespread, violent protests, culminating in the ouster of Hasina, who took refuge in India.

As Hasina fled, Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus returned from self-imposed exile to become the chief advisor of the interim government.

Nature scorned

Extreme weather events and natural disasters took thousands of lives this year—starting from the first day of 2024, earthquakes, wildfires, and storms ravaged countries around the world.

Japan was hit by a deadly quake in January and disasters continued throughout the year, with Papua New Guinea and Ethiopia suffering landslides that claimed hundreds of lives.

Extreme rainfall and storms, too, left devastation in their wake, with Nepal, Spain, Philippines, US, and the French territory of Mayotte seeing hundreds of casualties in separate incidents.

An uncertain future

South Korea plunged into political uncertainty this year after its President Yoon Suk Yeol called for the imposition of martial law in the country, accusing the opposition of hijacking parliamentary processes.

Enraged at the decision, the South Korean public turned on Yeol, who was impeached in December.

PM Han Duck-soo, who stepped in as acting President, was also impeached within days, leading to finance minister and deputy PM Choi Sang-mok taking up the mantle.

Russia behind plane crash?

In December, Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 flying from Baku to Grozny in Russia crashed in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people onboard.

A few later, preliminary findings into the disaster accused Russia of causing the deadly crash. Preliminary results showed the plane was struck by a Russian Pantsir-S air defence system over the Chechnya region when it was approaching Grozny. Its communications equipment too were paralysed by electronic warfare systems.

Though Putin apologised to Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, for the "tragic incident", he just stopped short of taking responsibility. Not one to remain silent, Aliyev called on Russia to "admit its guilt".

Pope under pressure

Pope Francis didn’t have the easiest time when he visited Belgium this year. At numerous state events, the Pope was called out for turning a blind eye towards reforms that would address the problem of clerical sexual abuse of children and even some adults.

Belgium's King Philippe and PM Alexander De Croo also called on the Pope to take more concrete actions to help survivors of abuse by the Catholic clergy. In another incident, officials present at events at two Catholic universities denounced his stance on the role of women in the Church and society.

South Korea's deadliest crash

Days after the deadly Kazakh crash, a Jeju Air plane carrying 175 passengers and six crew members burst into flames and crashed at Muan airport in South Korea.

The intensity of the crash led officials to believe that almost everyone on board perished in the accident, barring two, who miraculously survived.

Witnesses present at the site recounted the horrific scenes leading up to the crash, saying they saw flames erupt in the plane's engine and heard multiple explosions before the incident.

A deserved century

As the year came to a close, Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th President of the United States, passed away on December 29, 2024. Among his many achievements, including reorienting US foreign policy towards a more humanitarian direction, Carter also held the distinction of being the longest-living president in US history. Carter died at the age of 100, with Biden declaring January 9 as a national day of mourning. 

Ratan Tata breathes his last

Ratan Tata’s demise on October 9 brought down the curtains on an eventful life that saw the creation of the cheapest car on the planet to a takeover of the Land Rover and Jaguar subsidiaries from Ford.
Both business and political leaders, as well as people from all walks of life paid tributes to the tycoon whose contributions truly changed the landscape of India’s business.

Adani gets indicted in the US

Indian billionaire and chairperson of the Adani Group, Gautam Adani, in December 2024, was indicted in the US on charges of bribing officials of the Andhra Pradesh government to get undue favours. Adani has denied the allegations, but the effect of this news was felt in New Delhi as the Opposition mounted up its accusations of a collusion between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the billionaire.

Mergers & acquisitions

2024 was witness to headline-grabbing business deals.

The most notable among them was the Reliance-Hotstar deal, which will see the merger of JioCinema and Disney Hotstar to create a streaming behemoth that can take the fight to the likes of Prime Video and Netflix. In July, a 32.72 per cent stake in India Cements was acquired by UltraTech Cement in a Rs 3,954 crore deal.

Another notable merger came in the form of Vistara (previously owned by Tata and Singapore Airlines) being merged with Air India in November.

A historic agreement which fell through was the Sony-Zee merger, which was valued at a whopping $10 billion. The deal did not materialise after Sony backed out.

RBI gets a new Governor

Sanjay Malhotra joined the Reserve Bank of India as its governor on December 11, 2024 after having served the Government of India as its Revenue Secretary. Former RBI Guv Shaktikanta Das left office on December 10.

Malhotra has assumed office when there is a strong view within the government and the industrial and business establishment, and outside that the RBI should relax its position on policy rates to support growth.

Whistleblowers fall silent

Boeing and OpenAI were mired in controversy this year after whistleblowers were found dead under strange circumstances.

John Barnett, a long time employee of Boeing who alleged safety lapses, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his skull in March. Two months later, another whistleblower—Joshua Dean—an ex-employee of a firm making crucial components for Boeing, also passed away due to health complications, despite leading a healthy life.

Meanwhile, Suchir Balaji, an Indian-origin engineer who worked for OpenAI and publicly questioned training methods for generative AI and its implications on copyrighted material, was found dead in November. Weeks later, it was declared a suicide.

Altman returns

After his dramatic dismissal as the CEO of OpenAI at the end of 2023, Sam Altman, one of the company’s founders, returned in 2024.

After Altman was shown the door, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella offered him a job to lead the company’s AI division while hundreds of OpenAI employees wrote a letter to the company, threatening to leave if Altman was not reinstated. OpenAI, on March 8, 2024, announced that Altman would return to the company.

Musk's wealth soars

The world’s richest man got richer and became the first person whose net worth crossed $400 billion. Stocks of Musk’s companies shot up after Trump’s win, and his personal wealth was further bolstered after SpaceX’s market capitalisation shot up to around $350 billion, nearly double of what it was in December 2023. Tesla stock, meanwhile, ballooned 70 per cent in 2024.

Notably, of Musk's entire wealth, $200 billion has been gained since Election Day in the US.

Nvidia hits new high

Nvidia dethroned Apple as the world's most valuable company on October 25 following a record-setting rally in the stock, which was bolstered by demand for its specialized AI chips.

Nvidia's stock market value briefly touched $3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple's $3.52 trillion. However, Apple soon regained its position and is now looking to breach the $4-trillion mark.

Hindenburg strikes again

In 2023, US-based short-seller Hindenburg Research’s accusations of stock price manipulation by the Adani Group shook business and politics in India.

This year, Hindenburg decided to target SEBI chief, Madhabi Puri Buch. Hindenburg claimed that both Buch and her husband have stakes in offshore entities that invest in the Indian stock market. It further alleged that these were the same funds used by Adani’s brother Vinod to inflate the conglomerate’s shares artificially.

Big names, big money

2024 was a great time for investors looking to land a sizable chunk of shares of companies going public. Food delivery company Swiggy launched its IPO on November 6. The IPO was initially priced at Rs 371 to Rs 390 per share, and was at around Rs 546 as markets closed on Friday, December 27.

Hyundai Motor India also launched its IPO this year, which was India’s biggest ever, as it raised $3.3 billion.

Mass layoffs

Companies across the world, especially in the tech sector, laid off thousands of employees in 2024, with the approximate number being around 1.5 lakh. Companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, and Tesla announced major cuts to their respective workforces this year.

The rise of AI, rising interest rates, and inflation are being seen as the major causes behind these layoffs.

Highs and lows

The Indian stock market saw a boom this year, with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty reaching record highs. Sensex hit 85978.25 while Nifty hit 26,004.15, both creating records in September.

The Indian rupee, on the other hand, hit a historic low when it reached 85.83 against the US dollar on December 27.

Samsung strike

Samsung saw strikes at its South Korea as well as Tamil Nadu factories.

In SK, the National Samsung Electronics Union went on strike in July to demand a wage increase, a demand that the tech giant finally caved in to.

Back in India, a month-long strike by Samsung employees at its Tamil Nadu plant was called off on October 15 following extensive discussions between the representatives of workers, the state government, and company management.

Blue screens of death

A faulty security update by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike in July caused a global outage of Microsoft systems, which affected business across the world. Delta Air even sued CrowdStrike for the glitch that was responsible for mass flight disruptions. The outage had affected 85 lakh Microsoft systems across the globe.

Bitcoin hits $100,000

Cryptocurrency Bitcoin breached the $100,000-mark after Donald Trump was elected the US President. Trump’s pro-cryptocurrency stance was behind this rally.

A World Cup comes home

2023’s heartbreak was overcome by the jubilation of 2024. Team India finally won a World Cup after 12 years. It was the perfect farewell for Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja, who retired from the shortest format.

Gauti Da brings back the Trophy to Kolkata

10 years since he captained them to the IPL trophy, Gautam Gambhir returned to KKR as coach, and once again brought the golden cup back to Bengal. With Rahul Dravid stepping down, this season was the perfect audition for him to take over as the national coach.

The Professor calls it a day

Retiring mid-series is not something many people do. But Ravi Ashwin is no ordinary cricketer of course. Calculating the perfect time to do so, the spin wizard called it a day after India’s 3rd Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar series. He retired from all formats of international cricket, with an impressive haul of 765 wickets and 19,743 runs in 287 matches.

A black spot on home turf

New Zealand handed India their first home Test series defeat since 2012, whitewashing the Men in Blue by 0-3.

This was the first whitewash suffered by Team India at home in a three-match Test series ever.

Jubilation and heartbreak

Paris Games 2024 saw India win 6 medals, 1 less than the previous edition. Neeraj Chopra could only get a silver this time, while Manu Bhaker bagged two bronze medals and the men's hockey team retained the bronze, among others. In many events, India came very close to a medal but fell short of it.

A medal lost and a seat won

Vinesh Phogat’s Olympics was the talk of the town. Competing in the women's 50kg wrestling, she reached the finals but was then disqualified for exceeding the weight by 100 grams. She promptly retired from the sport, joined politics, and then won elections on a Congress ticket to become an MLA in Haryana.

All hail King Gukesh

D Gukesh, on December 12, beat Ding Liren of China and was crowned the FIDE world chess champion, incidentally becoming the youngest-ever to do so and the second Indian to accomplish it after V Anand. It capped off a brilliant year for Indian Chess, which also won six gold medals at the Chess Olympiad.

He who walked among greats

Sunil Chhetri, an Indian football great, who at one point had more active international goals than Lionel Messi, with only Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of him, retired from the international circuit on June 6, 2024, with 94 goals in 151 official international appearances. The 40-year-old currently sits 4th on the all-time top-scorers' list.

El Matador hangs up his racquet

Having announced that this year’s Davis Cup will be his last professional tournament, Spain’s defeat to the Netherlands on November 19, 2024 turned out to be Rafael Nadal’s farewell appearance on the tennis court. He retired with 22 Grand Slam titles.

Spain conquers Europe to mark a new era

Led by the prodigious Lamine Yamal, Spain won the 2024 Euros, beating an English side that had made back-to-back Euro finals. What was more interesting was Spain winning with more direct football, deviating from their usual possession-based style.

Hottest year on record

A science 'story' which perhaps escaped no one—2024, if you didn't already know, was the hottest year since global records began in 1850. Prior to this, 2023 was the hottest year on record, and 2024 topping it made the past decade the warmest 10 years on record.

Cure for HIV/AIDS?

The US FDA in 2022 approved the drug lenacapavir as a treatment for HIV/AIDS. Two years since, findings from the two drug trials sponsored by lenacapavir maker Gilead Sciences have shown immense promise, with results published this year showing success rates of 96 per cent and 100 per cent respectively.

In search of alien life

The never-ending search for extraterrestrial life continued this year, with NASA launching a major mission to look for conditions that could support life in Europa, a moon of Jupiter. Among Jupiter's 90+ satellites, NASA chose Europa because scientists believe the moon's sub-surface ocean may harbour life.

A perfect storm

The most dramatic geomagnetic storm in over two decades gave Earthlings a glimpse of ethereal auroras in places people would least expect.

Owing to the storm, courtesy of the sun, the northern lights were seen as far south as Florida. With the sun nearing the climax of it's 11-year activity cycle, many expect 2025 to bring even more auroras.

Mapping a brain

"Over 1,40,000 neurons are joined together by more than 490 feet of wiring, as long as four blue whales placed end to end." The quote describes the brain of an adult fruit fly, which is the size of a poppy seed. Yet, it took hundreds of scientists over a decade to fully map it. The discovery despite its literal small size was massive: previously, the only organism to have its brain fully mapped out was a tiny worm with a mere 385 neurons in its entire nervous system.

Detecting Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's detection, thus far, was a complex affair. This year, however, scientists found that a simple blood test could accurately detect Alzheimer's in patients, in line with the accuracy of other medical tests. Although further finetuning is required, this development could pave the way for drastic changes to Alzheimer's detection and treatment in the years to come.

Human-Neanderthal breeding timeline

While it's known that us humans at one time bred with the Neanderthals, scientists this year were able to pinpoint when the two species started interbreeding. The study found that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis lived side-by-side for around 7,000 years—from 50,500 years to 43,500 years ago—around which time they are believed to have interbred.

Gene editing with a dash of AI

You may already have heard of CRISPR technology that allows geneticists to cut and edit parts of DNA. Now, researchers have taken CRISPR a step further by pairing it with large language models (LLMs) similar to those behind AI chatbots such as ChatGPT. The result? OpenCRISPR-1, an open-source gene editor that research teams across the world can access.

New moons around old planets

Up until this year, astronomers were only aware of Uranus having 27 moons and Neptune having 14. However, in 2024, three new additions were made, with two new moons spotted orbiting Neptune, and one orbiting Uranus. The trio are the faintest moons ever spotted using land-based telescopes.

Oldest reptile skin

It's a rare thing finding soft tissue in fossilised remains. This year, however, researchers stumbled upon what is believed to be the oldest known fossilised reptile skin, dated at over 300 million years old. While the creature it belongs to has yet to be identified, scientists believe it lived during the late Paleozoic era.

Google's Willow brings the 'Quantumania'

One wouldn't normally imagine the Marvel Cinematic Universe coming up when speaking of scientific breakthroughs, but Google's Willow quantum chip has brought the mania, sparking renewed debate on the possibility of a multiverse—which is that there might be multiple universes that are interconnected.

This chip can reportedly solve complex problems in minutes, which would normally take our current supercomputers ten septillion years...that is akin to squaring the age of the universe—13.7 billion years.

The founder of Google's Quantum AI team suggested that the success of the chip lent credibility to the notion that quantum computation was occurring across multiple parallel universes. This idea was pushed by physicist David Deutsch, who linked the idea that quantum mechanics might prove a multiverse exists to the Many Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics. Deutsch even suggested that quantum computers might function using parallel universes for specific calculations.

Hema Committee

A news report that shook the entire entertainment industry in 2024 was the Hema Committee Report which exposed widespread sexual harassment in the Malayalam film industry.

The report pointed out that the industry was in the clutches of some 'criminal mafias' and many actors, producers, and directors were involved in seeking sexual favours.

Docu-drama

Superstars Nayanthara and Dhanush locked horns this year with the latter’s lawsuit and the former’s letter becoming major talking points.

Dhanush served the actress a legal notice demanding Rs 10 crore over the use of BTS clips from their 2015 movie Naanum Rowdy Dhaan in her documentary Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale. Responding, the actress posted a scathing letter on social media.

Darshan in deep water

This year was not in favour of South Indian cinema fans. In what came as a plot twist, the Kannada film industry’s beloved actor Darshan Thoogudeepa became a murder suspect in 2024 and was arrested for allegedly killing his fan along with his friend, actor Pavithra Gowda, and 15 others.

No chill for the Khans

The Bhai and Badshah of Bollywood can only hope for a better 2025 after a tumultuous year full of death threats.

Salman Khan seemed to be on the Lawrence Bishnoi gang’s radar and received threats. There was also a shooting outside his house. Meanwhile, the accused behind the threat received by Shah Rukh Khan was arrested.

'Queen' slapped

Kangana Ranaut (who still awaits the release of her biopic on Indira Gandhi) always finds ways of making it to the headlines, and this year despite her debut in politics and victory in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi constituency, what broke the internet was the actor-politician getting slapped by a female CISF officer at the Mohali airport as the latter was upset over Ranaut’s stance on farmers' protests. Someone call security, it is an Emergenc-...never mind, that will take months.

Will they? Won’t they?

Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have been in the news all year long over suspicion of the couple parting ways. However, as the rumours got out of hand, both Abhishek and Amitabh Bachchan dismissed them as speculation without verification.

However, the couple that did get separated was A R Rahman and Saira Banu, after 29 years of marriage.

Cancer culture

It is not always a horror when people rise from the dead, it is also a relief (and a little frustrating if we are being honest). In February this year, the news of model and television personality Poonam Pandey’s death from cervical cancer shook the internet, until it didn’t.

Soon after condolences started to pour in, the actress shared a video claiming her death announcement had a “greater purpose” of spreading awareness about cervical cancer.

Re-release > Sequel

2024 was kinder to re-releases like Laila Majnu and Kal Ho Naa Ho compared to sequels like Bhul Bhulaiya 3 which received criticism for acting, direction, and dance. Yes, DANCE despite having both Madhuri Dixit and Vidya Balan! Oh, and speaking of sequels, can someone please tell the Singham makers - NEVER AGAIN!

While we are on the topic, Pushpa 2, a sequel to Allu Arjun’s superhit Pushpa landed the actor behind bars with a case against him after a woman died in a stampede during the premiere of the movie. To be fair, not all the sequels in 2024 were a flop. Horror-comedy Stree 2 became the highest-grossing Hindi film of all time at the domestic box office with a collection of Rs 586 crore.

Laapataa Ladies

While Bollywood delivered controversial films like Animal this year that sparked debates around misogyny in cinema, it also gave us Laapataa Ladies, a movie about women lost, both literally and metaphorically. The Kiran Rao directorial was India’s official entry for Oscars in the Best International Feature category. However, this movie failed to make it to the shortlist.

Meanwhile, an official India-French co-production, All We Imagine As Light, charted history by winning the Grand Prix Award at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Filmmaker Payal Kapadia's movie even topped former US president Barack Obama's list of recommended films for 2024.

Money doesn't talk, it swears

The biggest box office winners this year were Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine. Some of the other highest-grossing films of 2024 were Wicked, Moana 2 (both are still running in theatres), Despicable Me 4, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Dune: Part Two, Twisters, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and Kung Fu Panda 4. 

When one sees the top ten highest-grossing movies in the world, nine are Hollywood films, and apart from Wicked (which isn’t exactly original content itself) all are sequels or remakes.

Hits & misses

With so many sequels and remakes, did 2024 offer anything to moviegoers craving something new? Well, there’s cause to be happy and sad. One of the year’s most anticipated movies – the mega-budget Megalopolis from directorial maestro Francis Ford Coppola fell flat on its face. The film, which cost around $136 million to make, only brought in $4 million in the opening weekend.

However, it wasn’t all bad for a cinephile, with absolutely refreshing releases like The Substance. Dev Patel’s directorial debut Monkey Man was another such revelation.

The reeling giant

Wondering why sequels, prequels, and not something new? Because, in most cases, these are safer bets. And Hollywood, under the glitz and the glamour, is an industry still recovering from Covid-time disruptions and massive strikes over the use of AI.

Even with things back to ‘normal’ in Hollywood, the numbers tell a different story. In the third quarter of 2024, film production levels declined 5 per cent from the same stretch in 2023. Since May 2023, when the Writers Guild of America strike began, motion picture and sound recording jobs in the LA area have declined 15 per cent.

Ugly side of showbiz

Despite many strides, the film industry continues to grapple with instances of alleged sexual harassment. Hollywood saw Blake Lively, who’s married to Deadpool actor, Ryan Reynolds, raise sexual harassment allegations against Jane The Virgin star Justin Baldoni.

Meanwhile, in France, the first big #MeToo case went on trial on December 9. Portrait of a Lady on Fire actor Adèle Haenel accused director Christophe Ruggia of sexually touching her starting from when she was 12 and he was 36.

The shot heard around the world

The manslaughter case against Alec Baldwin, over the accidental firing on the Rust set, which led to the death of the cinematographer, was dropped by the prosecutor this year.

This incident was reportedly the first time since the silent movie era that a fatal on-set shooting occurred because a live round was mistaken for a dummy or blank round.

Star power

Hollywood, in many aspects, is now looking to the past, which is perhaps why for the first time in a long time, the industry is seeing a crop of male actors who could well go on to be stars. The likes of Glen Powell, Timothée Chalamet, Paul Mescal, and Dev Patel seem very promising, though of course not yet at the level of say a Tom Cruise, George Clooney, or Brad Pitt.

Cultural critics have opined that this might translate to a positive spell for Hollywood, with audiences flocking to the theatres to see these ‘stars’ on screen.

Knighted and ready to shoot

Speaking of star power, acclaimed director Christopher Nolan was knighted this year, and has already announced that his next movie will be on Homer’s epic—The Odyssey—and will include a star-studded cast of Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, and Tom Holland, among others.

Award watch

Nomination lists are out for both the Golden Globes and the Oscars, and while there is no Barbenheimer this time, there’s still Glicked - Gladiator 2 and Wicked, which might keep things interesting, apart from many other notable submissions. 

While Golden Globes will be held on Jan 5, 2025, the Academy Awards are scheduled to be held on March 2 and will be hosted by comedian and talk show host Conan O’Brien. 

A look at love…from both sides now

Love bloomed for some celebrities this year, and walked out the door for others. Among notable celebs who got engaged or tied the knot in 2024 are Only Murders in the Building star Selena Gomez, who got engaged to Benny Blanco. Kaley Cuoco of the Big Bang Theory fame also said “yes” to Tom Pelphrey, while Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown tied the knot with Jake Bongiovi, son of musician Jon Bon Jovi.

Meanwhile, Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly parted ways. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez also split up, as did Zoe Kravitz and Channing Tatum. Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet filed for divorce, as did Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher. Natalie Portman and Benjamin Millepied as well as Britney Spears and Sam Asghari also ended things as couples.

Bidding adieu

This year we said goodbye to several acting greats including Maggie Smith, best known for her role as Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter series, and Alain Delon, whose works like Le Samouraï still remain an absolute cinematic treat.

Veteran actors like James Earl Jones – known for voicing Darth Vader in Star Wars and Mufasa in Lion King, and Donald Sutherland known for M*A*S*H and the Hunger Games series, among many others, also breathed their last. This year also saw Carl Weathers, who played Apollo Creed in Rocky, pass away. 

Diljit wins hearts

From challenging the authorities to ban liquor in the state if they want him to omit alcohol-related words from his songs to reciting classic poems warning those against him, musician Diljit Dosanjh became a movement in 2024. The singer kicked off his 'Dil-Luminati' tour in October and since then has been the talk of the town.

Not just his fans, but local bodies, politicians and the courts have also echoed with his name. However, leaving his fans shocked, the Punjabi singing sensation recently announced that he would not be performing live in India until the infrastructure of the country improves during a concert in Chandigarh.

Coldplay's concerts never meant to cause any 'Trouble'

While Coldplay's India tour will commence only next year, the last few months of 2024 have been all about the band. Even though the British rock band announced a fourth concert date in Ahmedabad recently, the black marketing of its concert tickets has been widely condemned by fans.

Moreover, a PIL was filed in the Bombay High Court seeking guidelines to stop the foul play during selling tickets online. The ED had also said that it detected alleged irregularities after it conducted raids to probe the black marketing of Coldplay tickets.

An 'era' ends as Taylor Swift's tour concludes

Iconic American singer Taylor Swift has become a worldwide sensation and as her 'Eras' tour ended this year, it is time to reflect on the singer-songwriter's journey and the multiple records she broke along the way.

Swift's tour grossed over $1 billion, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.

Spanning over 20 countries, the concert that saw the largest crowd was the one in Melbourne, Australia, with 96,006 Swifties present. The concerts also saw celebrities in attendance like Emma Stone, Emma Watson, her longtime friend Selena Gomez, Justin Trudeau, and Roger Federer among others.

Heartbreak for Directioners

This year has had all the One Direction fans question 'just how fast the night changes' with the passing of Liam Payne, a member of the now-broken band.

The 31-year-old Payne of the globally popular British boy band died after falling off a hotel balcony in Buenos Aires.

While fans were shocked with the sudden demise of the singer, reports of his last few moments before death claimed that Payne was intoxicated with drugs and alcohol and had created a ruckus in his room, prompting the hotel reception to call the cops. However, by the time help arrived, Payne had already jumped off.

Krishna’s redemption story

It was redemption time for T M Krishna, the Carnatic vocalist, who is known for his views on freedom of expression and rights.

Krishna had been pilloried by all and sundry, that too all in the name of an award—the Sangitha Kalanidhi Award—conferred by the prestigious The Music Academy, Chennai.

Krishna had been chosen for the award, instituted in the name of the legendary M S Subbulakshmi, much to the ire of her grandson, who accused the atheist vocalist of mounting scandalous attacks against her in the past.

Sanity, however, prevailed after the Madras HC set aside an order preventing the award from being conferred to Krishna.

The Magsasay-award winner also returned to the Music Academy and performed at the Annual Margazhi Festival, after almost a decade.

Hariharan’s golden jubilee

The year 2024 also saw ghazal maestro Hariharan completing 50 years in the profession. The occasion was marked with a series of concerts titled ‘Be-Misaal’ that started in Kozhikode before traversing Bahrain, Dubai, Qatar before culminating in Bengaluru.

From soul-stirring renditions to rock, hip hop and ghazals, the 69-year-old had done it all and has worked closely with A R Rahman and the Zakir Hussain.

With more than 15,000 songs in over 10 languages, Hariharan has left an indelible mark in the heart of music lovers.

Adios Pankaj

The year started with the demise of the man who was credited with taking ghazals to the heart of the laymen. Pankaj Udhas breathed his last on February 26, leaving a big void in the art of soulful music.

For the connoisseurs of ghazals, Chitthi Aayee Hai still reverberates in their hearts while for the romantics, Jeeye To Jeeye Kaise still resonates in their minds .

Rafi@100

December 24 marked the birth centenary of legendary singer Mohammed Rafi, who had mesmerised the music world with his magical voice. Tributes poured in from various quarters as music aficionados once again realised the near impossibility of limiting the oeuvre of Rafi Saheb to a numbered list of 10-20 all-time bests.

While Sonu Nigam performed a concert in Mumbai in honour of his ‘mentor', musicians from across classical and pop traditions joined hands to celebrate the maestro.

Arre huzoor 'Wah Taj' boliye!

At the fag end of the year came the news of the death of tabla maestro Zakir Hussain. Born to an illustrious father—he was the eldest son of tabla maestro Alla Rakha—Hussain is credited with popularising Indian classical music worldwide with his youthful zeal and enthusiasm.

In addition to his tabla classics, for all those 90’s kids, the memory goes back to that famous Brooke Bond Taj Mahal Tea ad.

Linkin Park cross the 'New Divide' with new vocalist

Linkin Park, the rock/nu metal American band with hits such as Numb, In The End, told the world they were returning after seven years with a new vocalist -- Emily Armstrong.

The announcement came at a packed Los Angeles venue, with the purported 'Janis Joplin of the rock arena' making her debut, replacing the seemingly irreplaceable Chester Bennington, who tragically died by suicide in 2017.

And the world lost Kris Kristofferson

Kristofferson, touted to be a pioneering member of the outlaw country movement, often embodied this same desire for freedom, as evidenced in Me and Bobby McGee where he writes ,"Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose'."

The singer passed away at the age of 88 this year.

In his time, Kristofferson has had several unforgettable songs -- some written by him, and some which he penned and sang. Casey's Last Ride with its fatalist moments, and Sunday Morning Coming Down which Kristofferson penned but was sung by Johnny Cash, becoming the No 1 country hit in the later part of 1970, share a similar strain of wistfulness.

The singer went on to have a successful career in acting as well.

Sheeran gives fans the 'Perfect' thing to look forward to

The Thinking Out Loud singer Ed Sheeran announced this year that he will be performing in Bhutan on January 24 as a part of his Mathematics Tour, making the 33-year-old the first international artist to perform there.

Along with this, the singer will also be bringing his Mathematics Tour back to India next year after his Mumbai show was completely sold out in March this year.

Apple Intelligence

Having been notably absent from the ongoing generative AI battles between tech giants, Apple this year entered the fray, unveiling its first genAI product—Apple Intelligence—at the WWDC 2024. For now, only two AI features—audio transcription and Clean Up, an object eraser—are available for Indian users on supported devices. Another batch of Apple Intelligence features is expected to be released with iOS 18.3 in 2025 summer, while more features are expected to accompany the iOS 18.4 update later in the year.

SearchGPT and beyond

OpenAI this year officially launched the company's much awaited generative AI-powered SearchGPT worldwide. SearchGPT promises to deliver relevant information customised for each user. With the launch of SearchGPT, OpenAI is expected to offer a significant challenge to Google's search platform, which has more than 90 per cent market share. SearchGPT is available on both the web (Chatgpt.com) and ChatGPT apps for iOS, Macs, Windows and Android. This year also saw OpenAI unveil advanced GPT models capable of scientific reasoning.

Google's foldable phone in India

Google's Pixel Fold (1st Gen) launched in 2023, but never made it to the shores of India at the time. This year, however, Google introduced its successor—the Pixel 9 Pro Fold—in the Indian market, at a price point of Rs 1,72,999. The ultra-premium Pixel 9 Pro Fold flaunts a 6.3-inch cover display and inside, it sports a wide 8-inch screen called the Super Actua display.

Apple Vision Pro hits stores

Apple's Vision Pro—a mixed-reality headset that promises to revolutionise personal computing—was unveiled in 2023, but was officially launched for consumers this year, ending a long wait. The headset hit limited markets in February 2023. While the Cupertino-based company is still in the process of completing the global rollout, the device is expected to hit Indian markets sooner rather than later.

Samsung's Galaxy Ring launched in India

Smart wearables are becoming increasingly common and Samsung did its bit this year, launching the cutting-edge Galaxy Ring health tracker for the Indian market.The new smart wearable, priced at Rs 38,999 is made of premium grade-5 titanium material. It also comes with an IP68 rating and 10ATM certification, ensuring that it can survive high pressure under several metres of water.

BSNL's D2D service

State-run BSNL this year unveiled its Direct-to-Device (D2D) tech, allowing users to make emergency calls or send an SMS via satellites, even without cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. BSNL's D2D service will use a dedicated constellation of satellites of Viasat, which work as giant cell towers in space, to receive and send signals between phones. This will come in handy for people in remote villages and those living in largely inaccessible places. It will also help in emergency communication during natural disasters that damage communications infrastructure.

AI-powered washing machines

AI has snaked its way into our lives without many of us realising. This year, Samsung took AI integration a step further, unveiling a new line of AI-powered washing machines in India. The front-loading Bespoke AI series of washing machines by the tech giant, among other handy features, promises to use 70 per cent less energy than conventional washing machines without compromising on dirt-removal efficacy.

The first wireless TV

CES 2024 saw South Korean tech giant LG showcasing its new Signature OLED T series TV, the world's first wireless television with a transparent display. It boasts state-of-the-art screen technology that can switch between opaque and transparent displays instantly. Unlike conventional TVs that turn opaque black when turned off, LG's television's screen becomes invisible and it can seamlessly blend in with any living room. With a custom-designed cabinet, the new 77-inch Signature OLED T series TV can also be used as a partition between the living room and kitchen.