From Sashi Tharoor and Piyush to Kiara-Siddharth: Bollywood and politicians turn 1980s with AI

Dubai: The 1980s are making a comeback on social media, with Indian celebrities and politicians embracing AI-generated portraits inspired by the decade. From retro fashion and hairstyles to warm tones, studio backdrops and film grain, the trend gives modern photographs a distinctly vintage look.

Here are some of the prominent Indian names joining the nostalgia wave:

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal was among the prominent political figures to join the viral trend. His AI-generated portrait shows him in a grey suit, white shirt and aviator sunglasses, with sepia tones and film grain creating an authentic 1980s studio-photo feel. He captioned the post: “Vibing to the 80s trend.”

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor took a different approach. Rather than generating an AI image, he shared genuine photographs from the 1980s, including pictures with his sons, Ishaan and Kanishk. He jokingly said he would join the trend “the old-fashioned way”.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju first shared an AI-generated 1980s-style image of himself wearing sunglasses, a blazer and an open shirt beside a car. He later posted a real photograph of himself from the 1980s, telling his followers it was “No AI & No ChatGPT”.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also embraced the nostalgia wave with an AI-generated retro portrait. He joked about joining the trend, giving his social-media followers a glimpse of his imagined 1980s persona.

Union Minister Chirag Paswan joined several political figures taking part in the viral 1980s AI trend, sharing an AI-generated version of himself styled as a retro portrait. His participation added another prominent political face to the social-media craze.

Parineeti Chopra has also joined the 1980s-inspired trend. She and her husband Raghav Chadha shared retro-themed images, combining the nostalgic fashion and visual style of the era with today's AI-powered image generation

Sidharth Malhotra joined Kiara Advani in embracing the vintage aesthetic. Their retro images recreate the styling associated with old Indian film portraits, helping fuel the trend among Bollywood fans.

Trisha Krishnan is another major Indian film star associated with the trend. Her inclusion gives the gallery stronger representation from South Indian cinema as the AI nostalgia craze spreads across the country.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu has also featured among the celebrities embracing the 1980s-inspired AI aesthetic. Her participation highlights how the trend has crossed language and regional film industries.

The viral AI 80s photo trend is giving social media users a nostalgic way to reimagine their modern pictures. The process is simple: upload a clear photo to an AI image generator and ask it to recreate the image as if it were photographed in the 1980s.

Users can specify details such as hairstyles, clothing, accessories, poses, backgrounds and lighting while asking the tool to keep their facial features recognisable. For an Indian 80s look, prompts can include colourful sarees, statement jewellery, big hairstyles, moustaches, wide-collared shirts, high-waisted trousers and retro sunglasses.

Adding a vintage studio backdrop, warm lighting, faded colours, film grain and slight imperfections can make the result feel more authentic.