Zohran Kawme Mamdani announced his candidacy for the mayoral race in New York City in October 2024. The politician entered the electoral race with relatively low name recognition. However, his unique ways of conveying messages centred on affordability resonated with everyone’s hearts. His campaign included some extremely nostalgic yet interesting elements from the Bollywood culture, which has drawn him immense praise and attention in the lead-up to the Democratic primary field.
Zohran Kawme goes Bollywood-coded for his mayoral race
Zohran Mamdani has drawn the attention of the youth immigrants and working-class New Yorkers by embracing his South Asian heritage. His criticism of Israeli policy and vocal advocacy of Palestinian rights have divided the voters, with some making several accusations against him of being anti-Israel. He has also been branded ‘anti-Hindu’ by some groups following comments about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His Muslim heritage has also drawn significant vitriol from some quarters. However, Zohran has used this to his benefit by including some attacks in his speeches and responses. One of which was quoted as saying:
“When you’re the first Muslim elected official to run for mayor, people say some pretty wild things.”
Zohran Mamdani has maintained his focus on key campaign themes. It was only last week when he released a campaign video on X filled with iconic Bollywood film scenes and music. The politician used Hindi as his communication language, explaining the voting process and his agendas, and criticising his primary rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, who is backed by President Donald Trump.
Zohran Mamdani’s Bollywood-inspired campaign includes Shah Rukh Khan’s iconic pose and Amitabh Bachchan’s evergreen dialogues
A self-described democratic socialist, Zohran Mamdani has framed the race as a battle between a grassroots movement and establishment politics backed by wealthy donors. His video, which was timed at two minutes and twenty-three seconds, included some of the most iconic Bollywood references. The video starts off with a dialogue by Amitabh Bachchan’s character, ‘Vijay’ from Deewar listing his material possessions, “Aaj mere paas buildingein hain, property hai, bangla hai, bank balance hai, gaadi hai. Tumhare paas kya hai?” To which Zohran appears soon after striking Shah Rukh Khan’s signature pose and replying:
“Aap”
The video was an impeccable blend of South Asian cultural references with policy goals. His campaign proposes free city buses, tighter rent control, city-run grocery stores and a 10 billion US dollars tax hike on the ultra-wealthy to make the initiatives possible. He also used the legendary singer, Kishore Kumar’s voice from Karz, to explain the ranked choice voting. He also quoted films like Roti Kapda Aur Makaan, the quirky lyrics from Apna Time Aayega as ‘Aapka Time Aagaya’. He was quoted as saying:
“Hey, have you ever voted for anyone? Have you ever ranked anyone?…We can guarantee cheaper groceries, we can raise the minimum wage, we can freeze the rent for more than 2 million tenants, and build more than 200,000 affordable homes. We are done settling for less…Billionaires ke paas already sab kuchh hai. Ab, aapka time aageya.”
What are your thoughts on Zohran Mamdani’s unique campaign for the mayoral race?
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