- Zohran Mamdani used Bollywood themes to connect with South Asian voters in NYC mayoral race
- He recreated iconic Hindi film scenes to explain ranked-choice voting and campaign promises
- Mamdani opposed Andrew Cuomo, highlighting policies for affordable housing, transport, and childcare
If you're the son of a celebrated filmmaker with roots in Bollywood and a mayoral candidate in one of the world's most cosmopolitan cities, you better up your game. And Zohran Mamdani showed how it's done.
When he threw his hat into the ring, his campaign spoke directly to the city's large South Asian population in a language they instantly connected with: Bollywood. Much like his campaign, the electorate also delivered, handing Democratic heavyweight Andrew Cuomo a stunning upset.
His campaign leaned heavily into the music, imagery, and emotion of Hindi cinema to connect with immigrant and working-class communities.
In one of his most talked-about campaign videos, Mr Mamdani recreated a scene from the 1975 classic Deewar. Amitabh Bachchan's character famously lists his wealth, "Aaj mere paas buildingein hai, property hai, bangla hai, bank balance hai, gaadi hai. Tumhare paas kya hai?" ("Today I have buildings, property, a bungalow, a bank balance, and a car. What do you have?")
Before the film's original reply can play, the video cuts to Mr Mamdani, standing in Shah Rukh Khan's signature pose, responding simply, "Aap." ("I have you.")
Set to Deewangi Deewangi from Om Shanti Om (2007), the video fused Bollywood with his political message. Mr Mamdani has an activist background and a cinematic lineage, his mother Mira Nair is known for Monsoon Wedding and The Namesake. His father, Mahmood Mamdani is a Ugandan academic, author, and political commentator.
In one campaign clip, a line originally sung by Kishore Kumar in Karz (1980), "Kya tumne kabhi kisi ko pyaar kiya? Kisiko dil diya?" ("Have you ever loved someone? Given someone your heart?"), was reimagined as, "Have you ever voted for anyone? Have you ever ranked anyone?" It was a clever way to introduce ranked-choice voting to multilingual, immigrant voters in a familiar cultural register.
He also used glasses of lassi (a traditional South Asian buttermilk drink) to explain rank-based voting.
Positioning himself firmly against Andrew Cuomo, who had the backing of US President Donald Trump, Mr Mamdani invoked another iconic Hindi film line, "Khaana milega, peena milega, bhaiya ki shaadi hai, sab kuchh milega." ("There will be food, there will be drink, it's my brother's wedding, everything will be available.")
He then delivered the punchline, "Billionaires ke paas already sab kuchh hai. Ab, aapka time aagaya." ("Billionaires already have everything. Now, your time has come.")
Finally, Mr Mamdani closed with a slogan that summed up his campaign's core promise, "Roti, Kapda aur Makaan" ("Food, Clothing, and Shelter"), the title of a 1974 film by Manoj Kumar. He said he was aiming to make these affordable, by introducing rent freeze, free buses and universal childcare and cheaper groceries.
After his win on Wednesday, the 33-year-old thanked his supporters, invoking the words of Nelson Mandela, "It always seems impossible until it's done. My friends, it is done. And you are the ones who did it. I am honoured to be your Democratic nominee for the Mayor of New York City."
Zohran Mamdani secured 43.5 per cent of the vote, while Andrew Cuomo trailed with 36.3 per cent.
