A Very Swift Shift: Shashi Tharoor Jumps on ‘Fate of Ophelia’ Trend in Viral Insta Reel - Watch

Somewhere between bilateral meetings and what he called “the tyranny of my inbox,” senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has unexpectedly entered pop-culture territory - as a Swiftie. In an Instagram reel that has taken social media by storm, Tharoor is seen dancing to the viral “Fate of Ophelia” track by Taylor Swift, leaning into the trend with self-aware humour. The caption of his reel read, “Somewhere between bilateral meetings at the Speaker’s Conference and the tyranny of my inbox, even a parliamentarian can become a Swiftie. Do the Swifties agree?” The video was accompanied by the text, "When you have 35000 unread emails, 5000 unopened WhatsApp messages and 15 op-eds to write but the social media girl decides it’s content time." The result

is a polished collision of politics, pop music and algorithm-friendly timing.

The reel has racked up 119.7K likes and nearly 1,000 reposts on Instagram, drawing a flood of amused and affectionate reactions. Among the comments: “Why are you so cool 😎 ❤️,” “Safe to say Tharoor Saheb is a Swiftie,” and “All hail the social media girl who convinced you to do this reel, sir😂🙌🏻.”

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A post shared by Shashi Tharoor (@shashitharoor)

Others leaned into wordplay and surprise. “Taylor Swift TS, flip it around ST Shashi Tharoor,” one user wrote, while another confessed: “seeing shashi tharoor dance to fate of ophelia was not on my 2026 bingo card.” Fans praised the vibe - “Amazzzzing man with words and vibes 🙌” - even as one critic offered a dramatically Tharoor-esque takedown, calling it an “exasperating farrago of gyrations, gesticulations & outright fascinations being broadcast by an endearingly earnest showman masquerading as a politician.”

For Tharoor, long known for his literary flair, polished diplomacy and verbose wit, the viral dance marks a lighter, self-mocking turn that appears to have landed well online. Whether or not Swifties officially claim him, the internet seems to have made up its mind: this was content time, and it worked.