Why is Tom Cruise hanging out with Indian influencers Avneet Kaur, Niharika NM, Jannat Zubair? Internet has theories

Hindustan Times

16-05-2025

Hollywood star Tom Cruise is on the most aggressive promotional tour of his career. The actor has been flashing finger hearts in Korea, climbing on top of the BFI IMAX building in London and leaping out of helicopters, all to give his Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning a fighting chance at the box office. However, the wildest promotional tactic, as per the internet, is none of these things. His fans are most surprised by how casually and how much he is using 'influencer marketing' for this movie.
The superstar has been spotted shaking hands, clicking selfies with 'influencers' and content creators from around the world, none of whom have even the farthest connection with the actor or his movie. Even a few names from India are on that list.
Content creator Niharika NM posted a video on Instagram on Friday morning, showing how Tom took her hand and asked her to join him for a photo during the premiere of the movie. They chatted next to a prop plane as camera flashes went off. Niharika posted with the video, 'This mission being possible has sent my soul into overdrive. Will take this century to reboot. I'm in awe of the man that you are @tomcruise ❤️🥺 Thank you for making this dream that I didn't have the guts to dream, come true @missionimpossible @paramountpicsin ❤️ #Missionimpossible in theatres May 17th!'
A post shared by Niharika Nm (@niharika_nm)
Avneet Kaur, who also posted a picture from the sets of MI8 last year, now shared fresh photos from a second meeting with Tom. 'Namaste mere aur Mr Cruise ki taraf se poore India ko 🇮🇳🙏🏻❤️Great to see you again @tomcruise 😍 @missionimpossible @paramountpics,' she wrote. She, too, attended the London premiere of the movie.
A post shared by Avneet Kaur (@avneetkaur_13)
And Jannat Zubair posted a selfie with Tom, clicked on same day and place as Avneet. She wrote, 'One selfie with Tom Cruise = Lifetime bragging rights. Somebody pinch meeee!!!'
A post shared by Jannat Zubair Rahmani (@jannatzubair29)
Their comments sections were expectedly full of messages of disbelief from fans and how lucky the girls were to have met and mingled with the superstar. A few even wondered what was the connection?
A theory is that Avneet may be a part of the cast in some capacity. Her fresh pictures from the premiere have sparked headlines that she may have a cameo in the movie. Hope that turns out to be true but the chances are quite low.
While everyone is happy that Indian influencers are getting such a great platform and visibility, some theories on the reason behind it have also surfaced. It likely has something to do with the chokehold that all three of them have Indian social media in: Jannat Zubair, Avneet Kaur and Niharika NM have 49 million, 31 million and 3 million, highly engaged followers on Instagram, respectively.
A tweet speculated the same. 'Changing times. Social media influencers are now promoting Mission Impossible. It's actually cost effective. She (Avneet) has around 3(0) million insta followers and good engagement,' it read. 'Most probably they went by her social media followers and she was way cheaper than any mainstream Bollywood celebrity with a similar online presence,' read a comment on Reddit.
However, not everyone is impressed. Avneet's comments section is full of 'Tom Cruise ke itne bure din aagae (Tom Cruise is going through a bad time)" trolling. 'One of the most popular franchises in the world with one of the most popular actors in the world needs Avneet Kaur to promote his movie.. whatever timeline we are living in makes 0 sense,' said a person.
Someone wrapped it up quite well though: 'Looks like it worked. We're talking about it RN,' read a comment on Reddit.
The same is reflected in box office predictions for the movie in India. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning is set to release in India on May 17, six days ahead of its US debut on May 23. While advance booking in the US is yet to pick up, the film is already setting records in India. It sold 12,000 tickets on day one of pre-sales at major chains and has now crossed 60,000, racing towards the one lakh mark. The Hindi version alone is outperforming many mid-sized Bollywood films. When factoring in English and regional languages, trade experts say Mission Impossible 8 is tracking ahead of all Indian releases this year, barring big-ticket films like Chhaava, Sikandar, Game Changer, L2: Empuraan, and Good Bad Ugly.
Of course, Tom Cruise's star power is a great pull in itself but likely the girls' post and selfies also had some role to play?
Tom Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt in Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, directed by Christopher McQuarrie, who has helmed every film in the franchise since Rogue Nation. Originally planned as Dead Reckoning — Part One and Two, the titles were changed after the seventh installment.
The film also stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, Shea Whigham, Angela Bassett, Esai Morales, Henry Czerny, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, and Greg Tarzan Davis. Presented by Paramount Pictures and Skydance, it releases in India on May 17 in English, Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.