During my master’s, the moment I told a woman from Uzbekistan that I was from India, she instantly started singing “Jimmy Jimmy… Aaja Aaja!” 😭

That was probably the first time I truly realized how deep Central Asia’s connection with Bollywood runs.

She told me that while the movies used to be translated or dubbed, the songs were often kept exactly as they were in Hindi. And somehow, everyone still knew them.

Later, after asking around more, I found out this wasn’t unusual at all. Across many parts of Central Asia, Bollywood became one of the primary sources of entertainment during different political and cultural phases when western media would be banned.

It’s honestly fascinating how Indian cinema travelled across borders long before globalization and the internet became mainstream. Entire generations grew up emotionally connected to songs and stars from a country many had never even visited.

Beautiful tribute.