Georgian musician surprises Indian traveller, delivers flawless rendition of ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’. Watch | Trending

Apr 21, 2025 02:03 PM A street performer in Tbilisi surprised an Indian traveler performing the iconic Raj Kapoor song ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani.’ A street performer in Tbilisi, Georgia shocked an Indian traveller when he broke into an impromptu performance of an iconic Raj Kapoor song. Now, the video of the heartwarming performance has gone viral and earned admiration from Indians across the world. The street performer sang the iconic Raj Kapoor song for an Indian woman travelling in Tbilisi.(X/@lenshreyaaa) Travel content creator @lenshreyaaa, who regularly shares unique discoveries from her journey around the world, posted a video of a Georgian accordian player who decided to serenade her with ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’. “When a random white guy in Tbilisi sings old Bollywood better than your cousins/friends at antakshari,” she wrote about the video. Shreya was pleasantly surprised the sudden serenade and shared her shock saying that she didn’t have “white man in Georgia vibing to Mera Joota Hai Japani” on her 2025 bingo card. “Tipped him and walked away like I just funded art,” she said. Take a look at the video here: The iconic song, sung Mukesh for the 1955 comedy drama ‘Shree 420’ was filmed on Raj Kapoor. The video earned praise online with many Indians pointing out his understanding of the lyrics apart from the appreciation of the music. “The fact that he knows what the lyrics mean. This man knows his art,” said one of them. Bollywood and erstwhile USSRIt might come as a surprise to many but Bollywood songs and movies were extremely popular in the Soviet Union of which Georgia was a part. The USSR, seeking to foster cultural exchange and soften its soft power, actively promoted Indian cinema, especially in the face of Western influence. A number of Bollywood films were dubbed or subtitled in Russian with Raj Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty becoming household names in the USSR. Apart from Raj Kapoor’s “Chaplinesque” roles, Mithun Chakraborty’s film “Disco Dancer” and the song “Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja” became a cultural phenomenon in USSR. Kapoor’s films Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955) became the highest-grossing productions in Russia turning him into a sensation. The popularity of Bollywood films died down after decades as the Soviet Union disintegrated. News / Trending / Georgian musician surprises Indian traveller, delivers flawless rendition of ‘Mera Joota Hai Japani’. Watch See Less