Apart from making history as the new New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani has another reason to celebrate. He made his Kaun Banega Crorepati debut this week, albeit not as a contestant but a the topic for a question on the show.
‘He’s finally made it’
During the 26 December episode of the show, host Amitabh Bachchan welcomed Bhopal, Madhya Prashesh’s Renu Devi Shukla to the hotseat. The 10th question that she was asked during the episode was about Zohran.
“Which Indian filmmaker is the mother of Zohran Mamdani, mayor-elect of New York City?,” the host asked. Options given were Gurinder Chadha, Mira Nair, Deepa Mehta and Aparna Sen.
Contestant Renu was not too sure about the question and took the 50-50 lifeline. She was left with the options Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta and chose the former, which was the right answer. This got her ₹5 lakh in the bank.
Clips of the same were shared on social media by followers of Zohran, who was sworn in as the mayor on January 1. A person commented, “I love this. His mom is such an icon too.” Another wrote, “It’s so satisfying to hear his name pronounced correctly.” A person joked, “He has officially made it.”
About Zohran Mamdani
Mamdani was formally sworn-in as New York City’s 112th Mayor by New York Attorney General Letitia James at a private ceremony held at the turn of the new year on December 31 in an old subway station here.
He became the first South Asian and Muslim elected to helm the largest city in the US. Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He was born and raised in Kampala, Uganda and moved to New York City with his family when he was 7. Mamdani became a naturalized US citizen only recently in 2018.
Mamdani thanked his parents, who were present for the swearing-in ceremony, as well as his wife Rama Duwaji for their support. He also expressed gratitude to his family from Uganda to India.
“Thank you to my parents, Mama and Baba, for raising me, for teaching me how to be in this world, and for having brought me to this city. Thank you to my family, from Kampala to Dilli. And thank you to my wife, Rama, for being my best friend, and for always showing me the beauty in everyday things,” he said.
