Bollywood disco numbers “Jimmy Jimmy” and “I am a disco dancer” were among songs played at a party for delegates at the regional summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, that concluded on Friday.
A viral video shows three singers, with a woman in the lead, dressed in formal black, singing some lines from the two songs, both made by the late Bappi Lahiri for the 1982 movie Disco Dancer, which shot lead actor Mithun Chakraborty to instant stardom.
As delegates from different countries danced to it — some even singing along — the moment ended up as a tribute to Bappi Lahiri, who died earlier this year, and a nod to Mithun Chakraborty’s stardom.
After the two Hindi songs, both heavily inspired by English songs, the singer switches to another language and the video cuts off. It wasn’t immediately clear which ones of the leaders or delegates were present.
Some social media users said the video shows how Hindi movies and songs travel across the region, if not the world. “The erstwhile USSR states are big fans of Mithun Chakraborty and Raj Kapoor. I went to Armenia back in July; my tour guide knew those two, and the ‘disco dancer’ song, very well,” said Rahul Anand on Twitter.
“These songs are famous in all Central Asian countries and Russia,” said another Twitter user, DP Mishra.
On the serious side of things, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit.
“Excellency, I know today’s time is not a time for war,” PM Modi told Vladimir Putin in their first face-to-face meeting since Moscow’s forces invaded Ukraine.
The comments from PM Modi came a day after President Putin acknowledged that China — Russia’s key ally — had “concerns” over the conflict in Ukraine.
Meanwhile In #Uzbekistan,
"Jimmy Jimmy Aja Aja" & "I'm a disco dancer"..
How can someone hate #India. pic.twitter.com/94d0UTR7MZ
— Fazila Baloch🌺☀️ (@IFazilaBaloch) September 15, 2022
