What My Family Used to Watch in the Soviet Union 

CORRECTIONS: 1. Thank you to those who pointed out that I oversimplified my description of India's economic system after independence, at minute <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="64">1:04</a>. India is a country with a mixed socialist-capitalist economy, and it leaned more towards socialism from 1947 until 1991. 2. Thanks, also, to those who told me in the comments that I used Nepalese music at some points in the video when I was actually talking about India, I believe the songs are at minutes <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="60">1:00</a>, <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="135">2:15</a> and <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="197">3:17</a>. I'm glad there are viewers who are pointing these mistakes out to me so I can learn from them, as long as it's constructive criticism and as long as you're civil about it. If you find anything else that you feel like it misrepresents your culture or your country's history, please tell me so I can write the corrections here for new viewers to see.

You have summoned Indian audience successfully

I am from a coal mining town in India in State of Odisha. My grandfather was a teacher but had learned Russian because back then Russian officials came regularly to our town to assist in surveying coal and training officers at Coal mining companies. Such events reflect the deep nature of engagement we had back in the day !

People in Moscow thronged up in streets when Raj Kapoor first had a public event in USSR. The babushkas really did love him back in those days :D

There used to be Soviet Folklore printed in Indian languages available to my parents’ generation. My father still has a collection of Russian folk tales in Bengali, printed from Soviet Russia.

Sadly, Bollywood has degraded by its association with western culture which is indirectly hurting Indian society

Growing up in 80s India, I had pen pals in the USSR that I found via magazines like Sputnik and Misha. We used to write to each other to find out about our cultures but also to exchange stamps. We always used to go out and buy the best stamps to go with those letters. There was this one time when I had to go looking for a Russian translator just to understand what was written to me. You reminded me of fun times.

My dad grew up reading translated versions of children's stories from the USSR back in the '80s. He says that you could find these translated versions for cheap here in India.

My parents told me once how much the Soviet Union was popular here in Kolkata, India. They used to have these circuses which came from the USSR and my parent's generation went to watch those every weekend or so.

Hi, I am from India. From what I have heard from my parents and elders, Soviet folklore, science fiction books and magazines were quite popular back then. I like watching Soviet films and melodramas. Personally, I would say that the film 'I'm Cuba' was pretty impactful, sad that it never received the recognition it deserved.

Ayo, Mithun da (Lead actor of Disco Dancer) had that 70s rizz

I grew up reading Soviet children's books of folk tales from various regions of the Soviet Union. These books were printed on very nice paper and were available cheaply in India. I still have some of them in my book collection.

Hello from India! I visited Russia in 2018 for the world cup and the last thing i expected was people talking to me about old bollywood movies and Mithun Chakraborty from Disco Dancer 😂 This world is a weird place and as big as it is, sometimes it reminds you of how small it can be.

in 2011, i visited st petersburg and my host, an elderly russian man perfectly sang raj kapoor songs in the evening . Jimmy Jimmy, not quite popular in India since the late 80s is ubiquitous in the post soviet countries even today.

Wow, I’m from India, I didn’t know that Mithun Da was so popular in the Soviet Union❤….Disco Dancer was composed by a famous music director Bappi Lahiri ….he passed away a few years ago…please show Bappi some love too dear Soviet people

Thanks!!! Wow what memories. As a child growing up in 1980’s New Delhi, the Ruski cultural exchange was vivid - our school was visited by USSR cosmonauts and we were given copies of a kids magazine called “Misha”. My parents worked for the central government and we used to go watch Russian circus, Bolshoi theater, pop music and many other events held in Delhi and at their Embassy. Many Indians forget the help USSR gave to India from 1950-1990. Agriculture, food grains, science, mining, steel, space program, military, naval, even Television and arts. In return USSR got way less. We will never forget that help. ❤

When I saw the thumbnail the first thought that came to my mind was Mithun Chakraborty joined CPM

I recently recovered a magazine paper from 70s. It was from सोवियत नारी (Soviet Woman). The page held instructions to weave a cardigan. Now the page of this magazine I retrieved was from a very old book belonging to my father. He later told me that this magazine, apart from its content, also use to have the best quality paper which was ideal to cover the books temporarily. And believe me it indeed was. The page quality to this day felt astounding.

One of my classmates spent three years in Uzbekistan. He said that shopkeepers wouldn’t charge him when he said he was Indian and believed him when he said he was Shah Rukh Khan’s neighbour 😂 Seems like Bollywood is still popular there.

Wow , i knew that Late Raj Kapoor films were quite famous in Russia in 50s and 60s but Disco Dancer 😂 Bollywood of 60s and 70s was all about song and dance and over the top fight scenes and unique villains. We still have retained a few of those aspects but now its more small town stories or a villain from Pakistan.

For those who don't know, Satyajit Ray and Rabindranath tagore also fond of Russia. Rabindranath tagore have an elaborate travelogue about Russia and Satyajit Ray many times told how Russian innovation in Filmmaking Inspired him. Sadly the degradation of Film and film appreciation are so drastic. In that era Arts was for Art's sake. Now from writing to film, everything is about making money. Now in West Bengal we don't have such directors who will be remember for their contribution to Cinema. Currently there are actually two directors whose work will be written in Film history- But sadly 99.99% Indians don't even know their names- Ashis Avikuntak and Amit dutta.

my grandpa was a student in patna college in bihar ..there used to be a specific russian language class ..he was well versed with soviet lingua

Soviet films were also popular in India. I have seen all of these: Battleship Potëmkin (Броненосец «Потёмкин») Dersu Uzala (Дерсу Узала; デルス·ウザーラ) White Sun of the Desert (Белое солнце пустыни) Kidnapping Caucasian Style (Кавказская пленница) Journey Beyond the Three Seas (Хождение за три моря; Pardesi) The Diamond Arm (Бриллиантовая рука) Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (Москва слезам не верит) Pirates of the 20th Century (Пираты XX века)

Emotional observation. As an Indian m glad and proud of Indian cinema for spreading love and happiness in Soviet people's lives when they were going through a crunch time. 💌

When I was growing up, I remember seeing a lot of books on popular science, geography, folk tales, etc. from "Raduga Publishers Moscow" at my home in English and Bengali. They had fantastic colours, beautiful prints and the page and binding quality was something way above a lower middle class/middle class Indian family could afford. Definitely there was a complex political and socio-economic background to that, but, those books were a godsend to me and my cousins.

Bring back the '...fell in love with Bollywood' title! It was way more interesting.

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="67">1:07</a> India wasn't capitalist in 1947, our first Prime Minister was a Fabian socialist... Even the constitution of India calls it as a Socialist republic... In fact , it loosened some of the regulations in 1991 and allowed capitalism to come back in certain sectors of the economy . It remains as a mixed economy today with a good number of private companies but by and large , State sector companies dominate

Once again a fascinating video about a topic I didn’t even know I wanted to learn about 😂 love it

We were aware that a few Indian movies were liked by Soviet people. But never imagined that the impact of Indian films were so extraordinary. Thank you. This was revealing. I believe Hindi movies were popular in some African nations as well, e.g., Nigeria. Finally, I guess Hollywood or European movies are not the only word in films. Other genres of cinema have been loved by people from parts of the world.

My grandmother used to tell us stories of Ivan and the Firewolf when we were growing up. The story of India-Russia relations is fascinating.

I am Indian, my dad whenever listens to the old songs tells me how this song "mera joota hai japanai" from Aawara movie was super popular in Soviet Union and how bollywood movies used to be really popular in USSR back then😊😊

in india, thousands of soviet scientists and engineers used to guide us in mining and various other activities. circus from soviet was very famous in india.

Title : What My Family Used to Watch in the Soviet Union Me : Why is Mithun the Disco Dancer on the thumbnail?

😞Sorry bro. But now Bollywood is not anymore like its being in his golden era. Nepotism or poor work of CBFC, Curving reality and Hurting of Hindu sentiments in Bollywood movies. Destroyed the Bollywood. 😑Actually right now i prefer to watch old movies better then new Bollywood movie .

I remembered a Discovery channel documentary that talk about the teenage culture of Soviet and Eastern Europe by people who lived during that time like some Russian folks talk about India films they love during their teens or the Soviet union promoted local rock bands that promoted Communism and patriotism.

no way you only have 2k subscriber. the video was well edited, your voice us good, the background music is very nice.

Finally! It took me 35 years (today) to finally understand why Raj Kapoor and Indian films were so popular in Russia! Big up!

Two people I know from the Soviet Union personally told me about the Mithun Chakroborty film, "Disco Dancer" being popular there

I have read in an article that the Movie AWARA got popularity in Russia . Although barely very few Indians nowadays remember the movie.

I vividly remember soviet children's magazine "Misha" translated into Hindi during my childhood.. 😊

Hello there I am from India

Heartening to know these details. Also these archival videos, pictures, etc of USSR are priceless. Humanity's heritage.

I think the rebellious teenager nature of the character in disco dancer is what people liked but it wasn't particularly anti Soviet union.

this is such a nice vid. the narration is soothing.

Mithun da supremacy 😂❤

Thanks for sharing this beautiful video, felt like got a peek into the forgotten past.

Thank you for posting this

as an indian, my mama (maternal uncle) did MBBS there , he said indian films are pretty popular even today....

Just leaving a comment to help out your channel, great work by the way.

even today, a lot of people in India still read books by Mir Publishers. In the context of science, a lot of old profs will recommend these over the newer books by American publishers, and they are still highly sought after.

This video is going to blow up.

Love from India 💌

Bellissimo video, mi ricorderò sempre la storia del trattore btw😂

I grew up in a town where the steel plant was built with Soviet collaboration. My childhood was heavily influenced by reading books from MIR publishers in USSR. Misha was a regular magazine. Made friends through it. Wrote letters to Ilya, Anna and Badruddin (Bodu). Letters stopped coming after '91. Hope they are all doing well.

THANK YOU!!

Outstanding Video ........... Thank You Brother

Thank you for the music choice ... and not re-using those cringe music(s) that are usually used when discussing anything related to India

Makes sense why my ex's mother's favorite song was "jimmy jimmy jimmy aaja"

I was like: is that Mithun in the thumbnail?

very cool, i did know beforehand that the bollywood film industry was popular amongst the soviet populous but i didnt know the popularity went to this much of an extent in which there were "indian" themed theatres within the soviet republics

This is type of content we like short precise to the point 🙂❤️

Nice little video of the impact of Indian films and a few actors like Raj Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty among the Soviet masses. I am from India and I have heard about all this with astonishment and wonder. Mithun Chakraborty's popularity is more in the Soviet blocs than even in our own country. I have a friend called Roman from Moldova and when we met the first time during a discussion about Indian films, the first name he said was... yes, you guessed it Mithun Chakraborty. I think my analysis of this is a natural bond between two regions... maybe since time immemorial, socio-cultural connection, etc. I watch films from different parts of the world, including Hollywood but when it comes to foreign films, Russian films (especially from the Soviet era) stand out and are naturally appealing. I think it is that poetic and philosophical aspects in both cultures that bring both these sets of people together.

My parents living in Vietnam in the 80s watched Hungarian films

With the collapse of The Soviet Union, Bollywood collapsed too!!

nice explanation. subscribed

*Correction - India was never a Capitalist country till the 80s. We had the so called "mixed economy" but it was more of a socialist economy than a Capitalist one. Anyway, nice video. 👍

As an Indian, I freaking loved Sholay. Not only because it was quite fun, but also it was named after my favorite dish at the time (Chicken Sholay). I used to watch the hell out of it, and I was pretty young too. Its probably the only oldest movie I have ever watched.

great video!!,,,,,keep it up.

I'm here just to show indian support

Now i understand why back in the day a Russian channel aired an old Bollywood movie of the 80's with subtitle! this is the real case then!

We r happy that we could entertain people of Russia. Our movies, tv serials, songs, have been popular all around the world in different periods of time

I'm glad that people of USSR liked those movies and they were able to entertain and perhaps leave a positive mark on your heart! Thank you for this video! USSR now Russia are India's oldest allies and helped India in Indo-Pakistan war and Indo-china war! We will never forget the contribution of USSR in redevelopment of India! Watching from India!

your 1000th subscriber is me!!! plz dont forget when you become famous 🙏🙏🙏🙏

I AM A DISCO DANCER! People who get the reference like and comment "🇮🇳"

Mithun Chakraborty is a great actor of Indian cinema. Known for his work in both commercial and art-house films.

The thing is, Hindi film were NOT apolitical. They were very much political in personal sense. The first example you picked- Awara, is a very class driven political struggle at a personal scale, Disco Dancer, has portrayed the revenge against the person who has clearly utilized their corruption of being the rich and powerful. Below all the entertainment, a whole lot if Hindi cinema till late 80s had a very sophisticated well thought out critique of the social norms, they were advocates of socialist ideals of welfare for the masses, equality, equity and a right to live a dignified life, fighting off the oppression and exploitation by the hands of those who are in power, whether they were white colonialists, rich businessmen, corrupt politicians and officers, or even bandits. And also didn't shy away from questioning the methods and blind obsession of even the righteous the way Shakti did with the inability of an honest police officer of being at flaw to understand his son, or how Om Puri's protagonist fails to carry the burden of honesty because his male ego pushes him too far. We need to reclaim the quality of hindi cinema today by finding out the less marketed good films.

My dad's school principal used to get some science magazines from the USSR, which he used to later give to my dad. He did find them better than National Geographic. And this was in a small town in Western India, not a major city.

This is so fascinating.

It is a bit surprising that the popularity of Indian movies dissipated so rapidly. Russians and other Soviet people could have kept enjoying Indian culture cinema along with the American movies.

It is really odd that Mithun da was that famous in USSR and also it is really amazing that Ray movies even reached USSR

Quite an interesting video. I live in a city planned and built with Soviet assistance. India actually moved towards capitalism since the fall of the Soviet Union caused a BoP crisis. I still have a collection of Russian folk tales, including stories about Ivan the Great and a wolf, porridge made from an axe, etc. My grandfather had bought it for my father, entertainment was expensive back then.

Pathar Panchali is just the Greatest Indian movie ever made....

My fellow indian we have been summoned, assemble!

I grew up in a steel plant township that was built by the soviets under the 5 year planning commissions. We have a Russian Complex in the middle of the township. A few russians stayed back and didnt go back to Russia post 1991.

As Indian studying in Soviet bloc country in Post Soviet era I have multiple experiences with this. When I was studying in Georgia, Georgian people used to call indians "Jimmy Jimmy" 😂, due to 'Disco Dancer' movie. All taxi drivers keen on talking to us but unable to due to language barrier, but take names of movies and popular actors & actresses they grew up watching with. I've even seen people fighting on the street about which movie was better "Sholay or Disco Dancer"😂. In COVID 19 quarantine, 1st time I watched local Georgian TV. Much to my surprise, "Sholay" was broadcasting in the Russian (you could hear Hindi dialogue and then Russian due to audio lag😂). They didn't mute the hindi dialogues but kept it at low volume. And add to more, they have translation written for the songs to understand meaning behind it. In 2018 fifa world cup Russia, wherever I go, I got called 'Hindustani or Indo' and get offered a glass of Vodka &/or Chacha. They start singing "Mera juta hai japani" which made Japanese onlookers alert and made them confue😂 😂 Still many old Indian hotels in Soviet bloc keep pictures of Actors like "Mithun Chakraborty & Raj Kapoor" visiting their restaurants 😂 Such was a craze of bollywood in Soviet era.

Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja is still played in local buses and restaurants in some places of Russia and central asia!

I knew there was gonna be some Indian connection seeing all those USSR countries' comments under old Bollywood music !

Thank you

Mithun Da the boss!

I used to read Leo Tolstoy novels and Short stories ... He was one of my fav authors... Pretty nostalgic 😊

Good video gang

Satyajit Roy's 'Pather Panchali' one of the great film in India 🇮🇳

Thank you! I as an Indian didn't knew the sociology behind Indians movies being famous in USSR. But even we don't like our movies nowadays!

Dude, I instantly recognised your Buffness in Indian Cinema when you mentioned Satyajit Ray.

Nicely made.

Love 💖 from India bro

Surprising how a society which listens to Kino also enjoys something like Bollywood

Mithun Chakraborty in the middle as the thumbnail, for those who are wondering. Yes more views are definitely in from India.

Even now they ask us about disco dancer and those bollywood names while walking in streets those people will interact good in russia. But we only know after they asking about them ! I don't even know hindi and even idk about my own language starts from 60s and 70 that much! But those grandma's and grandpa's will have good vibe! ❤ Missing russia so much!

damn. had no idea about this. i haven't watched a single bollywood movie you mentioned. didn't realise they used to be popular back in the day