Man Vs Wild: Best memes from Modi's adventure with Bear Grylls

Perhaps the best part about Discovery Channel's special episode of Man Vs Wild starring Narendra Modi was not what took place during the half-hour episode, but the memes that followed shortly after.

#ManVsWild was the #2 trending item on Twitter worldwide, with variants of it in all the top trending hashtags for Indian users. Of the barrage of posts, a few good memes stood out. Here are the best of the first reactions to the episode (though you can expect many more to flow in across the week).

The lucrativeness of having a show starring the prime minister of the world's second most populous country was not lost on anyone, with several memes noting how happy the Discovery Channel would have been with the ratings for this episode.

When it came to the show itself, Bear Gryll's deferential behaviour to Modi reminded many of Akshay Kumar's infamous interview with the prime minister.

This was not an episode about Bear Grylls. Most of the screentime went to long discourses by the prime minister about his upbringing, wherein he repeatedly stressed that he had came from an underprivileged background.

The irony of discussing one's impoverished childhood against the backdrop of a slowing economy was not lost. 

Perhaps, the most meme-able moments came when Grylls announced that he would have to take Modi across the river on a makeshift boat. Of course, given the prime minister's busy schedule, the boat had already been put together a day earlier. However, eagle-eyed viewers noticed a bridge in the background — making it very clear that the whole exercise was unnecessary.

Still, it would not be Man Vs Wild without at least some adventure. Modi got onto the makeshift coracle boat, while Grylls paddled in the water, pushing the prime minister to the other shore. The Titanic references were inevitable.

Despite the fact that Grylls was doing all the work, Modi spent much time speaking about the hardships he underwent in his youth.

The whole journey was over quite soon. The Prime Minister delivered a few discourses about the environment, his childhood and certain moral values, and then left for his helicopter. But, it had clearly had its intended effect in terms of publicity. Memers used the chance to poke some fun at Imran Khan.

This is what turned up on Twitter. But, you can rest assured that cartoonists, comedians and meme-makers alike will have content lined up for the rest of the week at this pace.