Google Trends 2020: Dil Bechara, Soorarai Pottru among most searched films in India

The year 2020 was not like the rest. From the end of March, most countries around the world had announced COVID-19 lockdown to restrict the spread of the deadly virus. Along with all the other sectors, the entertainment industry too suffered the brunt. Despite theatre shutdowns around the world to curb the spread of the pandemic, films were released directly on digital platforms to entertain viewers. According to Google Year in Search 2020, Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi’s _Dil Bechara_ was one of the top Indian movies searched for by people in India. According to Google, Rajput’s final cinematic outing was the only movie to make it to the overall top 10 trending list. Dil Bechara is based on a novel by John Green named The Fault In Our Stars. The novel was made into a Hollywood film with the same title. Dil Bechara marked the directorial debut of casting direct Mukesh Chhabra. The film is about two cancer survivors who meet in a support group, fall in love, and struggle to cope with the burden that emotion carries when it is known that your days are numbered. Tamil action-drama _Soorarai Pottru_ starring Suriya Sivakumar and Aparna Balamurali was the second most searched film by people in India on Google in the year 2020. The film chronicles the journey of Nedumaran Rajangam, a man from Solavandhan, a town in Madurai. The character dreams of launching a low-cost airline. His wife Sundari runs a successful bakery and toil to accumulate funds to turn his dreams to reality. As per Google, Bollywood biopics including Tanhaji, Shakuntala Devi, and Gunjan Saxena also made it to the Year in Search 2020 list. “Interestingly, Indian movies dominated the list, where the only international Hollywood movie to make it here was Extraction,” the search engine giant said. _Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior_ is a film based on Tanaji Malusare, trusted lieutenant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Malusare played a major role in capturing the Kondana fort which is now known as Sinhagad Fort located near Pune in Maharashtra. The film starred Ajay Devgn, Saif Ali Khan, and Kajol in lead roles. It is directed by Om Raut. Starring Vidya Balan in lead, Shakuntala Devi based on the life of the late mathematical genius who was also known as a “human computer” for solving numerical problems correctly within short span of time. The film is writing and directed by Anu Menon. The film stars Jisshu Sengupta playing the role of Shakuntala Devi’s husband. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video India. In Sharan Sharma’s directorial, Pankaj Tripathi has played the role of the heroine’s father, while Angad Bedi is seen essaying the role of Saxena’s brother. The other five films that made it to the list included Laxmii, Sadak 2, Baadhi 3, Extraction , and Gulabo Sitabo. According to Google, while Indian films dominated the list, the only international Hollywood movie to make it was Extraction. The film starred Chris Hemsworth, who played the role of Tyler Rake, a mercenary-for-hire who is sent to Bangladesh to rescue the kidnapped son (Rudraksh Jaiswal) of a drug lord. Interestingly, Sadak 2 trended for all the wrong reasons. The Mahesh Bhatt directorial which released on streaming platform Disney+Hotstar saw the world of social media divided. While one group started the #ThrilledForSadak2 trend to show excitement and wish the star cast and the filmmakers, another section used the hashtag to slam the film.