The lookalike contest in India is just a ‘oomf’ meetup in disguise

"Someone printed my tweet on a T-shirt and is now making money off it," my boyfriend texted me, amused at the thought of his silly words living on fabric. Instinctively, I ordered the tee, fully intending to turn it into a big, fat joke. I thought nothing could top the hilarity of that moment—until I started seeing chatter about the lookalike contests in India popping up on the app. A few days later, images from those contests were going viral, and suddenly, the joke had a worthy contender. Here was a contest that appeared out of nowhere, drawing a huge crowd—simply because someone on the internet decided to spread the word. To everyone’s surprise, people showed up, and the Abhay Deol lookalike contest happened. The next day, it was all people had to talk about on X (previously known as Twitter). 

Soon enough, someone came up with a similar idea for a lookalike contest for Arjun Rampal, and the reaction was sublime.

“We were on a late-night video call when we randomly decided to hold an Arjun Rampal look alike contest,” said Jazmin, 19, one of the organisers of last week’s event at Deer Park. Basin said the idea came to her out of nowhere when she spotted an Arjun Rampal poster on her friend’s wall during the call.

Before she knew it, people were sliding into her DMs, about the contest. “One person even cancelled their flight to take part,”Jazmin said, still amazed at the response. No fewer than 100 people gathered on a random Tuesday for the contest. What did they win? A couple of cigarettes, some hugs, a few whistles, and 500 bucks.

In simple terms, what’s happened is that this platform has managed to bring together a group of chronically online 20-somethings, convincing them to gather, and quite possibly, have the time of their lives.

By now, you’ve probably heard about the lookalike contests taking the internet by storm. It all started with a Timothée Chalamet lookalike competition in New York, followed by others for Dev Patel, Harry Styles, and Jeremy Allen. These contests brought out doppelgangers of these stars, who were likely waiting for this moment their entire lives. Within weeks, the craze made its way to India, with the first stop being Delhi. The celebrity of choice? Abhay Deol.

“Any of the contestants barely looked like Abhay Deol” Shan Gupta, 23, an active user, also one of the attendees of the lookalike contests tells me. He first caught wind of the event on X, much like the approximately 150 other chronically online individuals who showed up, decided he had to see it for himself.

What goes down at these lookalike contests?

Gupta tells me that as he approached the contest location, it was the sound of hooting that helped him spot it. A crowd of around 150 people had gathered. Among them was a line of contestants vying for the title—none of whom actually looked like Abhay Deol, though their attempts to dress like him were commendable.  

The event included a makeshift ramp walk, followed by contestants reenacting scenes from one of Abhay Deol’s films. The crowd saw, Kabir Dewan, from Zindagi Na Milegi Doorba, Dev from Dev D, Lucky from Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye and a lot more. 

Similarly, for the Arjun Rampal contest, the enthusiasm was unmatched. People turned up in large numbers, sporting black blazers and drawing moustaches on their faces in an attempt to channel his character Mukesh from the film Om Shanti Om.  “For an entire afternoon with complete strangers, I had way too much fun at the contest,” said Fiza Mehwish Rahman, 22, another avid Twitter user who attended the event.

Gupta and Rahman shared how they finally met people they’d only interacted with online—mostly on X—recognising them through their words and profile pictures. “It felt like an unofficial X meet-up that would never have happened otherwise,” Gupta quipped.

The unspoken solidarity of the 'X community'

If you closely observe the two recent lookalike contests in India, you'll notice that they had little to do with actual doppelgängers. Instead, the focus of these community events is birthed purely out of the intention of getting people together. At its core, the internet has created a space—a safe haven—for people, whether they think alike or not, whether they're eager to share their thoughts online or simply "chronically online," following every shifting trend. It allows them to connect with one another and foster a sense of belonging. And the X users are leading this. 

You’ll be surprised by what people have built on this app. It’s a space much bigger than you might think. Here, you'll find a group of mostly 20-somethings sharing every thought, detailing their lives, asking for opinions, and offering their own in return. So far, I've seen people share updates about their dating lives, post their fit checks, discuss what made or ruined their day, talk about finding the love of their life on the app, vent about how their bosses are becoming unbearable, open up about heartbreaks, and much more. And now, a few reshares have managed to convince at least 100 people to gather for a lookalike contest. 

As for today, I know an X user matched with a ‘young’ Indian cricketer on Hinge, and now I’m waiting for the next update. Another user shared a journal page from when she was 19. She’s doing far better now than she was back then. Next on my timeline were cat pictures someone posted, and now I’m looking forward to more adorable snapshots. These, mind you, are people I have never seen, known, or met. If you look at the comments underneath these posts, they’re along the lines of words of encouragement or the complete opposite. Yet somehow, X has grown to be a platform for Gen-Z to rant about their everyday mishaps or talk about something deeply personal. This may or may not have stemmed from the growing need for external validation in the generation, but unfiltered ness and a sense of unspoken virtual solidarity keep the show going.

At the end of the day, the internet is, in fact, a massive place, and it’s easy to get lost here. But every now and then, it rises to show you another side. Sometimes, it exposes you to a world you wouldn’t have known otherwise; other times, it draws you closer to an online world you’ve created for yourself. The ‘chronically online’ community of X is one example of such a world. And the lookalike contest is just a manifestation of the online solidarity the X community has been sharing all along.

Lead image credits: Getty Images

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