Rahul Khanna’s shower Met Gala

Rahul Khanna’s 15-minute bathing live stream got more than 100,000 views. Pic/Instagram/@mrkhanna; (right) Karan Johar made his Met Gala debut this year in a Manish Malhotra. Pic/Instagram/@karanjohar

When you write a column on social media, every week is a challenge - not to find things going viral, but to find things going viral that are actually worth it. Some weeks, it's harder than the rest.

This week, social media was full of Met Gala this, and Met Gala that. The annual extravaganza's theme for 2026 was Fashion is Art. And so the celebrities came out, trying to outdo each other. What were the Kardashians wearing (why are they still even a thing)? They were so nipple forward, that I think they have a new bra brand launching? Why did Hyderabad model Bhavitha Mandava, who is now a Chanel ambassador, wear a jeans-and-top ensemble to the red carpet??? Well, duh! It was designed by Matthieu Blazy to mimic her 2025 Chanel debut look. But was the original art, or this supposed to be art? IMO, neither was. Oh and Blake Lively was there, just hours after settling her case with Justin Baldoni. They are calling her archival Atelier Versace gown from spring 2006 her revenge look, because as she said, "Every year I am a different version of myself than the last, so to be able to stand in the version of myself that I am today - and all the experiences I've had - in strength and confidence is important to me". Full power to her.

There was also the Indian contingent. There was Isha Ambani, of course, who, as she told us in a now viral video, wore jewels belonging to "mom, mom, and mom," paired with a Gaurav Gupta sari. She carried a mango batua, and looked decent. But the Internet isn't quite sure she should have been there. But then who should be? Everyone - right from Ananya Birla (who wore a Subodh Gupta mask and ended up looking like the host of the OTT reality show The 50), Natasha Poonawala, Karan Johar, Manish Malhotra, Diya Mehta Jatia (who is the Ambani's bahu Shloka's sister) - why were any of them there? Were they invited by Anna Wintour herself? Did a brand take them? Or did they buy a approximately $100,000-ticket?

Who knows, and who cares?

Should we still be interested in the Met Gala - which this year counted Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sánchez Bezos, among its lead sponsors, with the couple reportedly paying USD 10 million to support the annual fundraiser? Reports from America say that, Wintour, who was once known to make and break careers, was sidelined for Sanchez, who now is seen as someone who can greenlight movies, and finance brands. Much like what was shown in The Devil Wears Prada 2, everyone now depends on tech mogul money. But us on social media, sitting on our couches or travelling on the metro during rush hour - why are we clamoring to see the filthy-rich flaunt their garish outfits? This is not art - this is a gaudy show of who has more in the bank, in a time where unemployment is at an all-time high. In January, Amazon cut approximately 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of layoffs.

The Met Gala to me is a sign of everything that's wrong in the world today - the one per cent rich showing us what they have, and the rest don't. And the mediocre fashion isn't even worth getting inspired by. Instead, give me a season of Sex and the City, circa 1998, any day.

Meanwhile, yesterday, when I was lamenting the fact that this week, it was all about the Met Gala, I got a press release in my inbox that spoke about everyone's favourite dandy, Rahul Khanna, taking a shower. Yes, you read it right. It said, "Rahul Khanna just took a shower and the internet can't stop watching". The actor/emcee/host/fashionista did a livestream on a YouTube handle titled, "The art of taking a shower". He sipped coffee in his bathrobe, then stripped (don't salivate, you can only see him till his waist) as he said, "This is not usual for me." He spoke about water temperature, then shaved, and used a loofah brush… well you get the drift. The 15-minute live stream, which he ended by finishing his coffee, got more than 100,000 views.

I watched it on 2xx speed (just for research purposes for this column). Though I would have skipped it (I like my men more like Jensen Ackles aka Dean Winchester killing monsters), my friend Mohar Basu said, "Don't be mean to Rahul - the only pretty man left in India." I am not going to be mean. Khanna did what few could do - divert attention from a Gala that shouldn't have ever been. And for that, he is now even more "edible" than before.Go Rahul!

See you next time.

Ranting and raving about all that's trending on social media, Aastha Atray Banan is an author, creator, podcaster, and the Editor of your favourite weekend read, Sunday mid-day. She posts at @aasthaatray on Instagram.
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