Listicle: 10 Easter eggs in some of your favourite Bollywood films

The whole film is built around premonitions and part of it is set in the 1970s. The cool bit is when Om (Shah Rukh Khan), says “Dosti ka usool hai madam, no sorry, no thank you” to superstar Shanti (Deepika Padukone), when he bumps into her. Watch as the shot zooms in on a man eavesdropping nearby. He’s meant to be young Sooraj Barjatya, who went on to make Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Salman Khan’s breakthrough hit, and uses the line in the film. No kabootars, alas.

So many eggs. Shah Rukh Khan brings back his famous line “Rahul… Naam toh sun hoga,” from Dil Toh Pagal Hai, even as he plays Vikram Rathore in the 2023 film. In addition, Priyamani’s character helps a young girl (Ashlesha Thakur), who played Priyamani’s daughter in The Family Man (2019-). Then, Sanjay Dutt cameos, walking in, singing the title song from his 1993 movie Khal Nayak.

What makes the zombie comedy work is that it doesn’t take itself too seriously – not even with the references. Viewers sense something is suss, when Boris (Saif Ali Khan) doesn’t seem like the dreaded Russian druglord he claims to be. It’s a delicious build up to his iconic “Arey main Dilli se hun ***” line. In a scene in which the guys reach Goa and spot a group of zombies, they dismiss them as random partygoers. Had they paid attention, they’d have ended up on an isolated island right at the start.

All these years later, surprises still emerge. Someone asks Amar (Aamir Khan) if he has watched the 1975 film Sholay. Amar replies: “Haan, iske baap ne likhi hai”, pointing to Prem (Salman Khan), who responds with, “Baap pe matt jaa.” It’s meant to be a joke. But where’s the lie? Sholay was actually co-written by Salman’s father, Salim Khan.

Roshan Kalra (Saif Ali Khan) gets fired from his job and goes about setting up a food truck with his kid, Aari. While they bond over cooking and the business, Kalra has a typical dad moment, during which he mentions that he once took an epic trip to Goa with his friends. It’s a reference to Khan’s 2001 film Dil Chahta Hai, which gave all of India Goa-travel goals. And it made us see Saif as a great actor too.

Another Shah Rukh Khan surprise. His Mumbai mansion, Mannat, has been showing up in movies before it became famous as his home. In Yes Boss, Rahul (SRK) sings Chaand Taare as he tours through Mumbai. The song is about how he dreams to make it big and features the bungalow. It’s the house Shah Rukh Khan would buy four years later! Dreams do come true. And get caught on camera, if you’re lucky.

The meet-cute between Kabir (Ranbir Kapoor) and Naina Talwar (Deepika Padukone) seems banal. Asking someone if you’ve met them before won’t get you anywhere, especially if you guess incorrectly. What makes it special is that it’s a throwback to Kapoor and Mukherji’s previous film, Wake Up Sid (2009). Kapoor takes a guess that the woman he’s met is Aisha, Konkona Sen Sharma’s character in that movie.

Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey) beats the odds to become an Indian Police Service officer, cracking tough competitive exams, finding himself. The story is based on a book by Anurag Pathak. The film has a scene in which Kumar and his wife play extras in a restaurant. It’s a fleeting glimpse but enough to give viewers a little taste of the real hero.

It’s a sequel, obviously there will be references to the OG. But here’s a clever one: When Gopal (Ajay Devgn) is trying to show Ekta (Kareena Kapoor) that he’s done well, he lets loose a string of words that weave in Devgn’s greatest hits: Phool Aur Kaante, Masti, Deewangee and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Then, Laxman (Shreyas Talpade) chimes in with Devgn’s string of flops: Aag, Raju Chacha and Cash. Gopal bristles. He knows this too.

This one’s not in the movie. The thriller about an insomniac former cop looking for redemption premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival. The poster is a clever nod to director Anurag Kashyap. Look closely and you can see bits of Kashyap’s previous works. The typeface of title echoes Black Friday (2004). The black-yellow font colour is from That Girl In Yellow Boots (2010). The blood spatter is from Gulaal (2009). Even the blue-red light is inspired from the Raman Raghav (2016) poster.