New York mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is set to take office on January 1, 2026. And while the youngest person in over a century to lead the largest city in the US prepares for his next step, he sat for an interview with Mehdi Hasan.
On 'Mehdi Unfiltered', the 34-year-old discussed his plans to make the city more affordable, his transition and political pressures. If you followed his campaign, you'd know that he's a big Bollywood fan.
During the interview, the Democratic-socialist was tested with a Bollywood song-guessing game, and while he didn't exactly ace it, he did prove he was a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan.
Mamdani correctly identified "Chaiyya Chaiyya" from Shah Rukh Khan and Manisha Koirala-starrer Dil Se (1998), but struggled with other classics such as "It's the Time to Disco" from Kal Ho Naa Ho and "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna" from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge.
When Hasan played the DDLJ song, Mamdani appeared to have some clue about it but couldn't recall the song. He did, however, nail the iconic Shah Rukh Khan pose, leaving everyone smiling.
Hasan was quick to notice that the Mayor-elect had no idea about the song, and he was merely biding his time.
Mamdani's love for Bollywood isn't new. Once he ended his victory speech earlier this month, the organisers played the song "Dhoom Machale" from the 2004 film Dhoom, resulting in a viral moment.
As the song played in the background, Mamdani was seen waving to his admirers before walking to his wife, Rama Duwaji, for a hug. Later, he was joined on stage by his parents, Professor Mahmood Mamdani and director Mira Nair.
In the interview with Hasan, Mamdani also revealed that he was receiving unsolicited advice from family members, including uncles, as he prepared to take office. He also discussed his plan to keep NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in his administration.
He further expressed serious concerns about his phone number's security and also spoke about the growing normalisation of Islamophobia.
Mamdani offered a striking observation about US politics, noting that Republicans tend to approach politics with an expansive sense of imagination, while Democrats often seem trapped in a mindset with a shrinking sense of possibility.
“Republicans, they have a sense of imagination that is ever-expanding. It can extend to purchasing Greenland. And Democrats, it feels as if we are often in an exercise of an ever-lowering ceiling of possibility,” he added.
Mamdani's affordability agenda includes plans to freeze rents, make city buses free and create five government-subsidised grocery stores, among others.
