Mera Joota Hai Japani

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"Mera Joota Hai Japani" (pronounced

In the song, the narrator asserts pride in being Indian, despite their clothes all being from other countries. The chorus runs:

मेरा जूता है जापानी, ये पतलून इङ्ग्लिस्तानी

सर पे लाल टोपी रूसी, फ़िर भी दिल है हिन्दुस्तानी

Merā jūtā hai Jāpānī, ye patlūn Iṅglistānī

Sar pē lāl ṭōpī Rūsī, fir bhī dil hai Hindustānī

My shoes are Japanese, these trousers are English;

The red cap on my head is Russian, but still my heart is Indian.

Due to its patriotic themes, the song was widely embraced in its time as a representation of the newly sovereign nation of India.^[1] As India was gaining its status as a sovereign democratic republic,^[2] this song depicted the casting off of the colonialist yoke and the recognition of the internationalist aim of uniting to make India and the world a better place.

The song was also a satirical retort at some of the political leaders and rich upper class of the newly independent India, who boasted of being

This song gained international fame, particularly in the Soviet Union.

In popular culture

• The opening section of the 1988 novel
  Gibreel Farishta
  singing an English translation of the opening lines of the song while he is falling out of an airplane.
• The first lines from the song are heard early in the 1991 film
  expulsion of Indians in Uganda in 1972
  .
• The 2000 Bollywood film Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani is named after a line in the song.
• Bengali author Mahasweta Devi quoted the lyrics in her inaugural address at the 2006 Frankfurt Book Fair:

This is truly the age where the jūtā (shoe) is Japani (Japanese), patlūn (pants) is Inglistani (English), the ṭōpī (hat) is Roosi (Russian), but the dil... dil (heart) is always Hindustani (Indian)... My country, torn, tattered, proud, beautiful, hot, humid, cold, sandy, shining India. My country.

• In the 2009 movie Today's Special starring Aasif Mandvi, "Mera Joota Hai Japani" plays on the radio in Naseeruddin Shah's cab.
• The 2012 re-make song Bollywood by Sasha Dith and DJ Rico Bernasconi featured on the Buddha Bar XIV compilation features the original recording.
• In the 2013 film Gravity, the Indian astronaut Shariff, voiced by Phaldut Sharma, sings the first line of the song while taking a break from his duties in space.^[4]
• In the 2006 novel
  Indian immigrant in the USA
  finds solace in the song among his immigrant friends and colleagues.
• The song is played at the beginning of the American film Deadpool (2016).^[5]
• The song sampled in Indian Rapper KR$NA's single "Joota Japani", produced by Umair which was released on January 17, 2024 at 12:00 a.m. and the music video (set in Japan) for the song dropped later at 11:00 a.m. in the morning, in the both audio and music video the sample gets played and it's a homage to the singer Mukesh.

See also

• Music of Bollywood

References

1. ^ The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema, By Ashis Nandy, Macmillan, 1998
2. ^ Raghvendra, Rao; Liz, Mathew (28 January 2015). "Govt under fire for using old version of Constitution Preamble without 'secular' word". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
3. ^ "Interviews with Tabassum - Shree 420". Doordarshan. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
4. ^ Raj Kapoor's song Mera joota hai Japani was perfect for Gravity: Phaldut Sharma, DNA India, 1 November 2013
5. ^ "Ryan Reynold's Deadpool has a famous Bollywood song playing in the background". Deccan Chronicle. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.

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