When it comes to making family members out of total strangers, we're all the same. Out-takes from the nation's photo album.
Souravdada: he's teaching India cricket!
Aunty acid: because, who else will deliver a dose of sarcasm when you need it?
Lekin babuji: who's your daddy, India? Amrish Puri! He holds all the power. But you can trust his stone heart to melt in a climactic scene when someone says, lekin babuji…
Kyunki Saas... ki ba: if you thought grandmothers were all about knitting and dentures, you've never met this death-defying super grandma.
Sanju baba: he's a gangster or formidable cop on screen, and a celebrity with a questionable legal record off screen. No matter how old, no matter how criminal, he'll always be little Sanju baba.
Amar Akbar Anthony ki ma: the mother of all mothers gets the blood of three sons from three faiths to magically combine into a single IV for her!
Sallu bhai: the brother who'll get you out of all your messes. Or at least makes your messes seem smaller in comparison.
Chanda mama: your mother calls him mama. You call him mama. Your kid will call him mama. His mamahood transcends generations.
Chacha Chaudhary: the watermelon-eating, walking stick-brandishing, problem-solving middle class uncle you always wished you had.
Savita bhabhi: she's smart, she's racy, she's a woman on top. She'll add spice to any family.
Tommy, the dog: it doesn't matter where he appears. He will be called Tommy, and he will be a Pomerian, er Pomeranian?
(Illustration: Siddhant Jumde)