 "#Pray_for_Neasamani: Who is Contractor Neasamani and why are people 'praying' for him on Twitter?")
On 29 May, Indian Twitter went on an overdrive as hashtags #Pray_for_Neasamani and #Nesamani began trending. The hashtag insisted everyone ‘pray’ for someone called Neasamani and it soon gained momentum online. For the uninitiated, Contractor Neasamani is a character played by comedian Vadivelu in the Tamil film Friends in 2001. This film – a remake of a Malayalam film by the same name – starred Vijay, Suriya and Devayani. In the scene, Neasamani is a building contractor and is trying to restore a historic building, but is struggling with his bumbling assistants who insist on taking everything he says literally. Late Wednesday night, the character mysteriously reappeared on social media and created the kind of buzz that had even celebrities jumping in.
How it all began : The origin of the trend is a popular Facebook meme page that shared a photo of a hammer with a caption, “What is the name of this tool in your country?”
An overenthusiastic Vadivelu fan was quick to connect the hammer with the scene from Friends, in which Contractor Neasamani ends up with an injury due to the hammer. Users mockingly began asking, ‘is he okay?’ and stating, ‘We are all praying for him.’ What started as a fun banter soon escalated into Twitter trends and memes.
Within 12 hours of it gaining traction online, over one lakh mentions were made across social media. And the tweets were hilarious. Users created photoshopped ’tweets’ of world leaders “praying for Neasamani.” There’s a popular meme where US President Donald Trump calls PM Modi to ask about Neasamani’s health. In another one, world leaders hold a meeting to discuss Neasamani’s health. Here are some of the best #Pray_for_Neasamani reactions online:
When the storm reached Vadivelu, he was rather surprised. Speaking to the The News Minute , the actor thanked his fans and said, “This entire trend is a victory given by God, a victory for the movie’s director Siddique and the victory for the people who enjoy my comedy.”