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“It is just a Dheevara moment”, a viral Instagram reel reads with Baahubali’s Dheevara playing in the background as visuals of Hyderabad’s Nexity drenched in rain take centre stage.

Just a few metres away, red taillights stretched into eternity on the Dugram Cheruvu cable bridge, and waterlogged roads at the IKEA rotary caused corporate employees to be stranded on the roads. The recent rainfall battered Hyderabad with trees uprooted, two dead and immense damage to infrastructure.

Yet, scrolling through Instagram, your experience might have been entirely different. There is a glaring disconnect in how the rain is perceived online; you would think the IT corridor had been transformed into an ethereal, romantic paradise.

This divide has triggered a much-needed commentary on how “aesthetic-washing” systemic urban failure for the sake of views has become a norm every monsoon.

The trend of romanticising the monsoon

Even days after the heavy rain that put the city to a standstill, our Instagram feeds are flooded with a distinct genre of content: the stylised monsoon reels. Videos shot from dry, elevated office balconies captured the dramatic grey skies sweeping over Raidurg while some slo-mo, low-fi reels framed raindrops on windshields as art pieces. Some creators even chose to layer dramatic audio tracks over drone footage of traffic jams, transforming a frustrating gridlock into a cinematic montage.

The comment sections of these reels quickly became a space for a massive reality check. Instead of dropping heart emojis, local netizens responded with a wave of collective exhaustion and wit. Commenters were quick to call out the complete detachment from reality. One user sarcastically commented, “Just Spent 2 hrs in traffic for 5km due to water logged roads . Absolutely in love”. Some shared their personal experiences, with a user commenting, “Office hour ended at 5:50 reached home at 10:34 for 12km.”

Many users highlighted the stark difference between recording videos from the comfort of a home and being on the ground in the rain. Many rejected the gloss, using the platform to demand structural updates rather than digital distractions.

Who gets to filter the rain?

Ultimately, the luxury of viewing a torrential downpour as a mere ‘vibe’ is bound entirely to privilege. To romanticise a storm requires a position of safety, behind the dry glass of a premium vehicle, a well-insulated high-rise apartment, or a cosy cafe.

The digital lens easily crops out the reality of the unseen city just outside the frame: the auto-rickshaw drivers navigating completely submerged, dangerous potholes, and the gig-economy delivery riders drenched to the bone, risking their safety to deliver comfort food to the very people filming from their windows. The backlash in the comments is not just cynicism, it is a collective demand for digital empathy for the people who keep Hyderabad moving while others edit reels.

As social media continues to shape our urban culture, responsible digital storytelling has shifted from a preference to an absolute necessity. Finding beauty in Hyderabad’s rain is an undeniable part of our lifestyle. But as we continue to move towards monsoon season, the content creators have a responsibility to capture the city’s beauty without turning a blind eye to its daily battles.