iWorld
#YouTubeRewind: Celebrating what India watched & shared
MUMBAI: 2016 was the year when sidekick became the superhero – yes you guessed it right – Kabali ruled the charts to become top trending movie trailer. Kapil Sharma show featuring Salman Khan got company from our very own YouTube stars of The Viral Fever playing truth or dare with dad and All India Bakchod’s honest portrayal of bars and restaurants as the top trending video’s of the year. Entertainment aside, we were also most curious to know about the GPS chip in the new 2000 rupees note.
As 2016 is coming to an end, and you know what that means….it’s time for #YouTubeRewind.
This year, more than 200 YouTube stars from 18 countries accepted our Ultimate 2016 Rewind Challenge to pay homage to the biggest videos, memes, channels, songs, and pop culture moments of the year. Keep an eye out for some pretty epic surprise guests. Oh, and we got Major Lazer to help us out with an original mix too.
We’re excited to announce the top trending videos, music videos and bollywood trailers from 2016, according to time spent watching, sharing, commenting, liking and more. From Kapil Sharma, TVF, AIB and behind the scene video of Shah Rukh Khan becoming the FAN, this year’s top trending videos represent the amazing variety of creativity shared on YouTube every day.
Collectively, the top 10 videos have 70 million views and the channels who make them have more than 45 million subscribers who tune in regularly to watch the funny, insightful, entertaining content they create/ upload, a blog posted by YouTube head of entertainment partnerships Satya Raghavan, stated.
Top trending videos:
The Kapil Sharma Show: Sultan
The Voice India Kids: Ayat Shaikh
Crime Patrol Dial 100: Andhkaar
Complete truth of Rs 2000 notes with a chip embedded in it
TVF: Truth or Dare with Dad
TVF’s Permanent Roommates: The Parents
AIB : Honest Bars & Restaurants
Life Sahi Hai: The Maid
How Shah Rukh Khan Became The FAN – Gaurav
AIB Diwas: Zakir Khan
In Music, 2016 seemed to be all about Kala Chashma with 45 million views, and ‘kar gayi chull’ and baby ‘ko base pasand hai’ taking the next slots.
Top music videos:
Kala Chashma: Baar Baar Dekho
Kar Gayi Chull: Kapoor & Sons
Baby Ko Bass Pasand Hai: Sultan
Bulleya: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Cham Cham: Baaghi
GF BF: T-Series
Hua hain Aaj Pehli Baar: Sanam Re
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Jabra:Fan
The Breakup Song: Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
In movies, Rajinikanth as Kabali went viral with Aamir Khan’s Dangal and Salman Khan’s Sultan following closely behind. The biopic of MS Dhoni featuring Sushant Singh Rajput was also a huge hit.
Top movie trailers:
Kabali Tamil Movie
Dangal
Sultan
M.S.Dhoni – The Untold Story
Shivaay
Befikre
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Fan
Baaghi
Dishoom
From an ads perspective, it is quite evident from the YouTube Leaderboard 2016 that several brands chose to create long format ads for a primarily digital-first audience. In fact, seven out of top 10 most watched ads in 2016 were over 90 seconds long. And audiences too were willing to invest their time and attention on ads that are narrative-driven and take a storytelling approach. #Dettolsheronkepanje was the most viewed ads for 2016 with close to 13 million views, and #Ranveerchingreturns and Amazon’s#ApniDukaan taking the next spots.
Most viewed ads:
Dettol Sheron ke Panje – #MaaMaane Dettol Ka Dhula
Ranveer Ching Returns
Amazon #ApniDukaan
Doublemint #StartSomethingFresh
Ola Micro Stories
Bajaj V – The Invincible
Makemytrip #BefikarBookKar – Taxi
#NothingDirty Anthem ft. Badshah
Amazon#MomBeAGirlAgain
Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge
iWorld
OneOTT partners with UP govt for Project GANGA broadband rollout
Initiative to connect 2M plus households, empower 8,000–10,000 entrepreneurs in 2–3 years.
MUMBAI: Uttar Pradesh just got a digital Ganga flow because when broadband meets ambition, even villages start streaming faster than city traffic. OneOTT Intertainment Ltd. (OIL), the broadband arm of Hinduja Global Solutions (HGS) under the Hinduja Group, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State Transformation Commission (STC), Government of Uttar Pradesh, for Project GANGA (Government Assisted Network for Growth & Advancement).
The MoU, signed on 7 March 2026 in the presence of Uttar Pradesh Finance & Parliamentary Affairs Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna, aims to empower 8,000–10,000 local entrepreneurs at the Nyaya Panchayat level as independent Digital Service Providers (DSPs). A significant number of these DSPs are expected to be women. The initiative will deliver high-speed broadband to over 2 million households in the next 2–3 years and create direct and indirect employment for more than 100,000 individuals.
Project GANGA will support government priorities in digital education, healthcare and public services while enabling MSMEs and enterprises with reliable connectivity. DSPs will receive structured training, financing assistance, network build-out support and technology enablement.
STC CEO Manoj Kumar Singh said, “Project GANGA is a significant step toward expanding inclusive digital infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. By empowering local entrepreneurs, the program will strengthen service delivery and ensure affordable digital access for underserved communities.”
OIL, MD & CEO and HGS whole-time director Vynsley Fernandes added, “This initiative reflects our long-term commitment to enabling digital access and economic opportunity at scale. Project GANGA is structured as a multi-year program focused on entrepreneur onboarding, network deployment and workforce development.”
OIL brings execution strength backed by HGS and NXTDIGITAL’s national footprint, which already connects over 5 million homes across more than 4,500 pin codes in 1,500 cities and towns through 15,000 plus franchise partners and over 2 lakh kilometres of fibre infrastructure. The ecosystem will support broadband, IPTV, OTT, CCTV, satellite internet and cybersecurity solutions for households, businesses and public institutions.
In a state racing toward digital inclusion, Project GANGA isn’t just laying cables, it’s laying the foundation for millions to connect, learn, heal and earn, one Nyaya Panchayat at a time.
