Zohran Mamdani, son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, clinched victory in the New York City mayoral election on Wednesday, defeating former governor Andrew Cuomo. Mamdani ended his victory rally on a celebratory note, breaking into Bollywood hit Dhoom Machale — a fitting finale to a campaign that drew deeply from Hindi cinema’s energy.
Mamdani, 33, secured 43.5 per cent of the vote against Cuomo’s 36.3 per cent, marking a generational shift in the city’s Democratic politics. “It always seems impossible until it’s done,” Mamdani said, quoting Nelson Mandela as he declared victory. “My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it.”
From the outset, Mamdani’s mayoral campaign stood out for its unapologetic embrace of Bollywood pop culture.
One viral video featured Mamdani recreating the iconic Deewar scene where Amitabh Bachchan’s character lists his possessions — “Aaj mere paas buildingein hai, property hai, bank balance hai.” The punchline came when Mamdani, striking Shah Rukh Khan’s signature arms-stretched pose, looked into the camera and said simply, “Aap — I have you.” The line, both playful and sincere, became the emotional centrepiece of his campaign.
In another video riffing on Karz (1980), Mamdani transformed Kishore Kumar’s “Kya tumne kabhi kisi ko pyaar kiya?” into a civic call-to-action: “Have you ever voted for anyone? Have you ever ranked anyone?” — cleverly educating multilingual voters about the city’s ranked-choice voting system.
His rallies often opened with Bollywood tracks — from Chaiyya Chaiyya to Jai Ho — and his campaign posters the aesthetics of old Bollywood filmi posters. His slogan, “Roti, kapda aur makaan” — food, clothing, and shelter — became shorthand for a progressive economic agenda promising rent freezes, free public transport, universal childcare, and cheaper groceries.
Earlier this year, videos of King Charles entering Westminster Abbey to the beats of Dhoom Machale from the 2004 blockbuster Dhoom, played by an Indian band, went viral on social media. The Shree Muktajeevan Swamibapa Pipe Band blended Scottish bagpipes with Bollywood flair on Commonwealth Day Service on March 10, sparking a meme fest online.
