Google 2019 Year in Search: Cricket, elections and entertainment top the charts

India held its general elections in April-May this year, where the Narendra Modi-led BJP government came into power. As the country held its elections in seven phases, Google saw its searches on elections too increase rapidly.

While the general elections concluded in May, there was another nail-biting political drama waiting for Indians six months later. A month-long political impasse in the state that is home to India’s financial capital ended with an least-expected coalition between the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena which broke its pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. Uddhav Thackeray took the seat of Chief Minister at the end while people kept up with the dramatic turn of events daily on Google.

From ISRO’s launch of Chandrayaan 2 to the lander Vikram crashing on the lunar surface, people world over followed India’s second lunar exploration mission. Those who couldn’t watch it on television, kept up with the progress on Google.

The one Bollywood movie that had everyone’s attention this year was the Shahid Kapoor-starrer Kabir Singh. The remake of the Telugu movie, Arjun Reddy, came under fire for its sexist remarks and the misogyny running throughout the film. However, even then Kabir Singh became the second highest grosser of the year. The songs of Kabir Singh were also Spotify’s most streamed album.

What happened to Iron Man was a question on everyone’s mind as Avengers: Endgame released in April. So, the movie which also went on to become one of the highest grossing movies of all times globally, obviously garnered a lot of interest from Indian Marvel fans as well. Being the last movie of the Avengers franchise also meant that the film was an emotional goodbye for all fans.

In a historic and a controversial move, the ruling Narendra Modi government annulled Article 370 of the Indian constitution that gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir a special status. It also broke up the state in three parts.

The BJP government had pulled off a political stunt that was hitherto believed to be impossible. While the leaders in the government and the opposition exchanged barbs, and the state of J&K changed forever, people scrambled to understand the magnitude of the move and the implication of it online.

Lakhs of Indians appear for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test⁠— a common eligibility exam for students aspiring for a course in medicine⁠. So when the results came out, students from across the country huddled in front of computers to see their results. The NEET UG 2019 examination was held on May 5 and May 20 this year, and Rajasthan came out to be the best performing state.

Another movie that caught everyone’s attention was Joker. The Joaquin Phoenix-starrer crossed $1 billion in box office collections and a sequel is already in the works. The film became so famous that even the steps in New York where Phoenix danced as the Joker became a popular tourist photo op destination.

In India, the movie is one of the highest grossing English language films while also being the highest grossing DC film in the country.

But Joker’s popularity was not just limited to its rave reviews and its box office collections. The film was also searched heavily on google for its torrent link to download a pirated version.

One of the only Marvel female superhero movies Captain Marvel was released in 2019 and became an instant hit. It was also one of the highest grossing films of the year. Captain Marvel made a second appearance this year itself with Avengers Endgame.

Having been marketed to have references to the Avengers Endgame, the film garnered a lot of curiosity. It went on to earn over ₹70 crores in India.

Once again, showing proof that piracy is alive and well in India, and a lot of people watched it online too.

The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi became the talking point of the year as the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced remedies for Indian farmers during the Budget. The government had declared that it would provide an income support of ₹6,000 to each farmer annually, which came in as a sigh of relief for farmers in distress.