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What is Dhoom Machale, the Bollywood song Zohran Mamdani played after mayor win?
Following Zohran Mamdani’s mayor-elect victory, the Bollywood song Dhoom Machale shot to viral status- here’s the back story on the hit track and its buzz.
When Zohran Mamdani declared his win for Mayor of New York City, the celebratory soundtrack was unmistakable: the beat and chant of Dhoom Dhoom echoed through the crowd. The 2004 Bollywood anthem, officially called Dhoom Dhoom, also known as Dhoom Machao Dhoom or Dhoom Machale, saw a fresh wave of attention after the election moment.
All about Dhoom Machale
Composed by Pritam and sung by Thai-American pop star Tata Young, the track was the title single from the film Dhoom and quickly dominated music charts throughout India and Southeast Asia in 2004-05. Its mix of energetic Hindi and English lyrics, complete with car-chase visuals in the video, made it a youth anthem of the era. The movie by Yash Raj Films was one of the highest-grossing films of the year, starring Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, and John Abraham. It started a new wave of heist films in India.
So why did it rise again during Mamdani’s victory? In his speech the night of November 4, he referenced change and momentum: “Friends, we have toppled a political dynasty.” Moments later, the crowd roared and the song played. The chant of Dhoom Dhoom matched the mood: to celebrate transformation and power shifting hands. Beyond the moment itself, the song fit the narrative.
Its hook, Dhoom Machale! Dhoom! loosely translates to “Make a storm! Boom!” The lyrics evoke motion, rebellion and high energy. In Mamdani’s case, the win was historic: he defeated heavyweights including Andrew Cuomo and became the first Muslim mayor of NYC.
Zohran Mamdani evokes Jawaharlal Nehru
During his victory speech, Mamdani quoted former Indian Prime Minster, Jawaharlal Nehru and said, “We won because New Yorkers allowed themselves to hope that the impossible could be made possible, and we won because we insisted that no longer would politics be something that is done to us. Now, it is something that we do. Standing before you, I think of the words of Jawaharlal Nehru - a moment comes, but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. Tonight, we have stepped out from the old into the new.”
