Every year, Google rolls out its list of ‘Year in Search’ for each country which provides an insight into the nation’s interest for the year. As 2018 is nearing its end, we dug into what intrigued Pakistanis the most, and here are our observations.
The Google report for Pakistan shows top trends in three categories; Searches (General search), People, and Movies. Although it didn’t come as a big surprise, but it was still a little disappointment that in terms of films, Pakistanis have more interest in Indian films than those that are locally produced.
Out of the top ten search trends for movies, six were Indian films, three Hollywood, and only one Pakistani film. No locally made film could break into top five, which is completely ruled by the films from across the border. Here is a further breakdown and analysis.
Films
The year 2018 saw the industry churn out one film after another, some which were even surrounded by controversies as well. Big budget movies such as Teefa in Trouble and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2; which were, by the way, shot expensively, had great star casts, and a tremendous box office run, failed to make it to the top ten google list.
Not surprisingly enough, the list was ruled by Bollywood where Race 3 managed to bag the top spot. What caught our eye, however, was Donkey King which made it to the sixth spot. The film was a thorough entertainer, as it was based on political scenarios which seem to be a favourite for Pakistani audiences.
People
It comes as no surprise how much Pakistanis love anything which surrounds itself with politics. Which is why we see Bushra Maneka, the first lady of Pakistan, make it to the number one spot on the list. Her name started making the rounds early in the year when she was rumoured to be married to Imran Khan.
Another one of the wives, or rather ex-wives of the Prime Minister Imran Khan, Reham Khan is also part of the list, standing at number four. This again comes as no surprise as Reham dominated all forms of media around the election time for her memoir that had a major section on Mr. Khan and his personal life.
In terms of Film fraternity-related personalities, Meesha Shafi shocked the nation when she accused friend turned foe, Ali Zafar of sexual harassment. Therefore, she also makes it to the list of most searched people by Pakistanis and stands at number three.
With hit television dramas such as Khaamoshi, Tabeer, and the massively popular Suno Chanda, the television actress, Iqra Aziz (9) also features in the Google report. She is immediately followed by Indian actress Sunny Leone, who just had to be there for very apparent reasons.
All in all, the top searches of the country were dominated by sport-related searches including Pakistan-New Zealand series which was closely followed by FIFA World Cup and Pakistan’s series against Australia.
