On 24 February, President Donald Trump, who is currently visiting India with his wife Melania Trump, daughter Ivanka and son-in-law and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner, gave a welcome speech to the scores of Indians present at Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad. During his speech, Trump made an unexpected Bollywood reference. He named Bollywood classics Sholay and DDLJ, and mentioned bhangra. He also gave a nod to Indian cricketers Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.
Here’s what he said:
“This is the country that produces nearly 2,000 movies a year from the hub of genius and creativity known as Bollywood. All over the planet, people take great joy in the scenes of bhangra music, dance, and romance and drama, and classic Indian films like ‘DDLJ’ and ‘Sholay’. This is the country where your people cheer on some of the world’s greatest cricket players, from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli. They’re greatest in the world.”Donald Trump, United States President
He added, “This is the country that built the tallest statue on the face of the earth to honour the namesake of this stadium, the great Indian patriot and native of this state, Sardar Patel. India is the country where hundreds of billions light candles to celebrate the triumph of good over evil at Diwali. And it’s where just days from now, Indians will pour out onto the streets to celebrate the beautiful festival of Holi.”
This isn’t the first time a Bollywood reference has been casually dropped by an American president. In 2015, former President Barack Obama too had made a Bollywood reference. Obama had quoted one of Shah Rukh Khan’s most iconic dialogues from the film Diwale Dulhani Le Jayenge.
“Senorita, bade bade deshon mein… you know what I mean.”Barack Obama
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