On our way back from a major shopping and walking spree (need a whole new blog entry to explain the walking) we took a cab back from the Batam Mega Mall to our hotel, about a 30 mins drive costing 1 Million Rupiah.
The taxi driver seemed friendly and started a conversation; both S and I were wary of the guy and were trying to keep the conversation minimal. But our cabby had other plans, he started making small talk and spoke about the economy, tourist places, religion etc.
He got only polite "hmms" and nods from us; after contemplating for 5 mins in silence he started singing Kuch kUch hota hai in his malay accent :) :) he knew the entire song and sang it in perfect tune and tempo, though he had no clue what it meant. He asked us to translate the song for him and was highly amused at the lyrics that he had been singing for so long.
He wanted to know if Sharuk' k'an and Kajol were Indians and also how much time would it take in a flight to reach bollywood.
While he was discussing his plans to come to Mumbai, we reached our hotel, just before alighting he told us his name was "Amar", and that his father had named him after a character in a hindi movie.
S and I were amazed and amused at the power that Bollywood has. It can transcend not just physical barriers but also lingual ones.
Bollywood rocks!!!
Thats awesome Adi. Come to think of it, Bollywood seems to have a very special place in the alien world of Hollywood and International movies spotlights. That reminds me,at my workplace, most Filipinos are die-hard fans of guess who! Akshay Kumar! I am not surprised after Sheila Ki Jawani. Most of them actually sing that song (most common Filipina name is SHEILA!).
ReplyDeleteAnd believe it or not, when i went to watch Dabangg...the Local people of UAE were whistling louder than a Rickshawala. Feels awesome gal!