Bollywood also jumps on the viral '80s AI trend

Actors Kiara Advani, Parineeti Chopra hop on the trend, while Vijay Varma, Farah Khan share real 80's throwbacks

The ’80s are having a moment, again. And this time, Bollywood is travelling back in time with the help of artificial intelligence. From Parineeti Chopra to Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra, celebrities have been recreating the decade with AI.

Instagram has recently been flooded with retro photographs featuring celebrities dressed in colourful, distinctly ’80s-inspired outfits, complete with big hair, vintage settings and old-school film aesthetics.

Chopra joined the viral trend alongside her husband, Raghav Chadha, sharing AI-generated images that imagined the couple as an ’80s-era pair.

The pictures recreated the decade’s signature fashion and visual style, placing the couple in colourful, nostalgic settings. Chopra also played along with the concept, joking about why the two could not have met when they were born.

 

 

 

 

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Advani and Malhotra also jumped on the trend. In the images shared by Advani, the couple appeared as though they had stepped out of an ’80s Bollywood film.

Malhotra sported a retro double-denim look and aviator sunglasses, while Advani channelled the decade with bright colours, statement accessories and voluminous styling.

Screengrab: kiaraaliaadvani/Instagram

Ameesha Patel took the nostalgia several steps further with her own AI recreation.

Her images featured neon pink styling, denim shorts, leg warmers, trainers and a large boombox.

 

 

 

 

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But while some celebrities embraced AI, others opted for the real thing and shared their actual ’80s photographs.

Actor Vijay Varma offered his own take on the trend by sharing an actual ’80s photograph, joking that he was doing the trend “without wasting water or energy.”

 

 

 

 

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Farah Khan also opted for the real thing, writing: “Who needs an AI trend for the 80’s!! Here’s the real deal.”

 

 

 

 

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Politician Shashi Tharoor also took the non-AI route, sharing photographs from the actual decade.

As the AI ’80s trend spread online, Tharoor posted real photographs from his past, including pictures with his sons, making it clear that his version of the trend came straight from the family archive.

Me in the 80s! [also starring: @ishaantharoor (in red shirt) @kanishktharoor (maroon shirt)] #80sTrend pic.twitter.com/sKmYJMuSxD

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2026

What began as a playful way to revisit a bygone era has quickly become a social-media nostalgia fest. While AI is giving celebrities a chance to imagine themselves in the decade of bold fashion and big hair, those with real memories of the ’80s are proving that sometimes the original really is the best throwback.