Mira Nair hugs her son Zohran Mamdani; (right) A still from ‘Dhoom Machale’

The late hours of November 4 in the US brought the jubilant news that the supporters of leader Zohran Mamdani were hoping for. The 34-year-old became the first South Asian and Muslim mayor of New York City. For those in India too, it was a moment to cheer. What followed were powerful moments — the newly elected mayor gave a compelling speech, stating, “I am Muslim, and I refuse to apologize for it”, and rounded it off with the perfect Bollywood icing that no one saw coming. The auditorium echoed with Dhoom Machale, the title track of Dhoom (2004), as Mamdani smiled at the huge crowd.

When mid-day reached out to Pritam Chakraborty, whose chartbuster has now found its place in global history, the elated composer said, “It’s apt that Dhoom Machale should be the highlight song when the son of Indian immigrants becomes the mayor of New York [City]. Mamdani’s win is definitely creating Dhoom! I also had the opportunity to interact with Mira Nair. My congratulations to her!” 

Sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, the track was a rage when the film released. But now, the song has acquired a political colour. Pritam added, “Our music and films are soft power that have spread our culture across the globe.” This is not the first time Mamdani used a Bollywood reference. In one of his videos, he recreated the Deewar (1975) scene, “Mere paas maa hai,” customizing it to fit the campaign.