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2000s kids, assemble!

October 04, 2025

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Hindustan Times Gurugram

How much do you remember of the first decade of the millennium? (And the best one. Don't @ us!) Pull up your jeans, fold the flip phone away, put some EDM on and let the core memories flow

- Noor Anand Chawla

Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham.

1. The muse

Poo in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. This is peak Kareena Kapoor, playing it rich, snotty but impossible to hate. Karan Johar's 2001 film came at a time when Indians were just getting comfortable with their place in the world. There was money to flaunt. And women were owning their power. Actor and content creator Ramona Arena, who played Poo's bestie Sonya in K3G, says Poo became an icon because "her independence was a threat, especially to men and women that expect other women to pander to men."

2. The hacks

The world was opening its doors to India, but not everything was at our doorstep. So the cool kids turned to Torrents to illegally access movies, TV shows, software and games for free. Napster blocked? Turn to Audio Galaxy. Everyone asleep? Leave the computer running, so the peer-to-peer sharing network can upload God of War and download Lamb of God. Everyone still asleep? Download some porn. Siddharth Pasricha, director of the insurance firm Global Admin, says streaming largely killed Torrents off. "The quality of video and music is much better and there's no fear of downloading viruses."

3. The lingo

Chillax, dude. Just talk to the hand. Fo shizzle. Slang terms from the '00s reflect an India that was learning quickly from American pop culture and didn't mind making Yo Mama jokes. PHAT stood for pretty, hot and tempting. It was also the era of SMS - users couldn't send long messages, they were charged for every text they sent. So people just typed lyk dis, lol. Pia Desai, director of Comma Consulting PR, says that her preteen has been picking up tips from that era, opting for landlines, text shortcuts and nonsmart phones. "They're extra cautious in terms of data privacy - it's a good middle ground."

4. The phenomenon

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