Crack the secret open

10 Easter eggs you may have missed in your favourite films. Some broke the fourth wall, some snuck in nods to real people. Some are simply silly

-  Karishma Kuenzang

1 Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013). 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. But 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.

2 12th Fail (2023). Manoj Kumar Sharma (Vikrant Massey) beats the odds to become an Indian Police Service officer. 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.

3 Om Shanti Om (2007). The film is built on 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 Shanti (Deepika Padukone). Watch as the shot zooms in on a man eavesdropping nearby. He's meant to be young Sooraj Barjatya, who made Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), and uses the line in the film. But no kabootars, alas.