If you ask who the most popular actor in India is right now, the answer will probably depend on the age of the person and maybe the region they are from. All answers from Shah Rukh Khan to Amitabh Bachchan, and from Prabhas to Rajinikanth, are correct in their own ways. But you wouldn’t assume to hear even one person say Sydney Sweeney, logically. For those living under a rock, Sydney is an American actor best known for her appearance in the TV series Euphoria. In recent months, she has gained worldwide fame as the brand ambassador for two viral ad campaigns as well. Yet, none of this explains why a 27-year-old Hollywood actor has more physical fan clubs in India than even the Khans and Amitabh Bachchan.
Yes, dear readers, that was not a typo. For some strange reason, Sydney Sweeney has chapters of fan clubs in as many as half a dozen places across several Indian metro cities.
The curious case of Sydney Sweeney fan clubs in India
The emergence of Sydney Sweeney fan clubs in India began around 2023. There is the All India Sydney Sweeney Fans Sangam, which has chapters in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Chennai. All three exist in physical locations and not just online. Recently, another fan club in Bengaluru has also been set up. A few others are work in progress in places like Mumbai and (once again) Hyderabad. In the age of social media, when fan clubs are largely limited to digital presence, this is a bizarre trend, and that too, for a star with no mainstream popularity in India.
Sample this: Amitabh Bachchan used to have dozens, possibly hundreds, of physical fan clubs in the 70s and 80s. Today, the number is down to just two – in Kolkata and Mumbai. Others are all just online. Shah Rukh Khan, too, has just 3 or 4 offline fan clubs. And these are the biggest stars of Indian cinema. Cine stars in the south, like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Prabhas, Vijay, and Chiranjeevi, are far ahead, as many have dozens of registered fan clubs, a trend singular to the four south film industries. But the Bollywood biggies trail good ol’ Sydney.
Are any of these clubs real?
HT tried contacting the Sydney Sweeney fan clubs, but has not heard back from any (or even been able to confirm if an actual representative exists). The most likely explanation is that the first ‘fan club’ began as a joke, with someone creating a pin on Google Maps for fun. And from thereon, the internet did what it does best: make a meme of it. As the internet discovered it and marvelled at it, others followed suit to bask in that bizarre glory. In the last month alone, two ‘fan clubs’ have been added in Chennai and Bengaluru. And yet despite having a pin on Google Maps, there is no physical address, pictures, or contact address.
About Sydney Sweeney
Born in Washington in 1997, Sydney began as a child star, appearing in TV shows in single episodic roles at the age of 11. She found her breakthrough with Euphoria in 2019, playing Cassie Howard, a fan favourite in the teen drama. In 2021, she appeared in the first season of the critically acclaimed show The White Lotus, earning her second Emmy nomination. Owing to her growing stature as a blonde bombshell and her acting performances, she was named in the Time 100 Next list for 2022. She has since worked in films like Anyone But You, Madame Web, and Immaculate. She will be next seen in boxer Christy Martin’s biopic, releasing next year. In 2025, her brand campaigns for her bathwater soap and jeans brand American Eagle went viral, earning both companies hundreds of millions of dollars.
The actor has never been to India yet.
