"Google's Nano Banana image-generation model, officially known as Gemini 2.5 Flash Image, has fueled global momentum for the Gemini app since launching last month. But in India, it has taken on a creative life of its own, with retro portraits and local trends going viral - even as privacy and safety concerns begin to emerge. India has emerged as the No. 1 country in terms of Nano Banana usage, according to David Sharon, multimodal generation lead for Gemini Apps at Google DeepMind, who spoke at a media session this week."
"The model's popularity has also propelled the Gemini app to the top of the free app charts on both the App Store and Google Play in India. The app has also climbed to the top of global app stores' charts, according to Appfigures. Given India's scale - the world's second-largest smartphone market and second-biggest online population after China - it is no surprise the country is leading in adoption."
"One of the standout trends is Indians using Nano Banana to re-create retro looks inspired by 1990s Bollywood, imagining how they might have appeared during that era, complete with period-specific fashion, hairstyles, and makeup. This trend is local to India, Sharon told reporters. A variation of the retro trend is what some are calling the "AI saree," where users generate vintage-style portraits of themselves wearing traditional Indian attire."
India leads global usage of Google's Nano Banana image-generation model (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image) and has driven the Gemini app to top app-store charts. Massive local adoption reflects India’s large smartphone market and substantial online population. Users are creating retro 1990s Bollywood portraits, vintage "AI saree" images, landmark cityscape selfies, object transformations, time-travel effects, and imaginative re-creations of themselves. Viral local trends have been uniquely creative and unexpected. The surge in usage has also prompted attention to emerging privacy and safety concerns related to the image-generation model.
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