When Google rolled out its Gemini 2.5 Flash Image model (aka the oddly named Nano Banana) last month, the world started experimenting. But in India? Things went from “cool new feature” to a full-blown cultural moment. The app shot straight to the top of both the App Store and Google Play charts — with India now officially the No. 1 country driving Nano Banana usage.
And it’s not just about numbers. It’s about vibes. Millions of Indian users have taken this model and turned it into their own creative playground. Think 1990s Bollywood throwbacks — reimagining yourself with Shah Rukh Khan-style hair, Kajol-inspired makeup, and that unmistakable vintage fashion. Or the viral AI saree trend, where selfies transform into gorgeous, old-school portraits in traditional Indian attire. It’s nostalgia, but make it AI.
Then there’s the landmark flex: people dropping themselves in front of Big Ben, classic red phone booths, or other global icons without ever leaving home. Add in time-travel effects, postage stamp makeovers, black-and-white self-portraits, and even trippy “mini figurine” versions of yourself — India is basically driving the global AI trend cycle right now.
And it doesn’t stop at photos. With Google’s Veo 3 video model, some users are animating old family pictures, giving life to their grandparents’ portraits in short, moving clips. It’s equal parts emotional and futuristic.
All this creativity has translated into downloads: 15.2M installs in India this year alone, compared to 9.8M in the U.S. After the Nano Banana update dropped on September 1, daily installs skyrocketed — peaking at over 414,000 in a single day. That’s a 667% surge.
But, as always with AI magic, there’s the other side: privacy concerns. People are uploading personal selfies, sometimes family photos, to transform them. Google insists it’s taking steps — every Nano Banana output gets a visible watermark plus an invisible SynthID marker, so AI-made images can be tracked. And soon, Google will launch a consumer-facing tool so anyone can check if an image was AI-generated.
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