Mera Joota Hai Japani

2022-04-29T13:26:21Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}}
{{more citations needed|date=April 2015}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox song
| name = ''Mera Joota Hai Japani''
| cover =
| alt =
| type = song
| artist = [[Mukesh (singer)|Mukesh]]
| album = [[Shri 420]]
| language = [[Hindi]]
| released = 1955
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre =
| length = 4:20
| label = [[Saregama]]
| composer = [[Shankar Jaikishan]]
| lyricist = [[Shailendra (lyricist)|Shailendra]]
| producer =
}}
'''''Mera Joota Hai Japani''''' ({{IPA-hi|meːrɑː d͡ʒuːt̪ɑː hɛː d͡ʒɑːpɑːniː|pron}}; {{lit|My Shoes are Japanese}}) is a Hindi song with music by [[Shankar Jaikishan]] and lyrics by [[Shailendra (lyricist)|Shailendra]], written for the 1955 [[Bollywood]] film ''[[Shree 420]]''. It was performed by popular Bollywood star [[Raj Kapoor]], though actually sung by [[playback singer]] [[Mukesh (singer)|Mukesh]].

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

::{{lang|hi|मेरा जूता है जापानी, ये पतलून इंगलिस्तानी}}
::{{lang|hi|सर पे लाल टोपी रूसी, फिर भी दिल है हिन्दुस्तानी}}

::{{transl|hi|IAST|''Merā jūtā hai Jāpānī, ye patlūn Inglistānī''}}
::{{transl|hi|IAST|''Sar pe lāl ṭopī Rūsī, phir 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]].<ref>''The Secret Politics of Our Desires: Innocence, Culpability and Indian Popular Cinema'', By Ashis Nandy, Macmillan, 1998</ref> As India was gaining its status as a sovereign democratic republic,<ref name="secular">{{cite news|last1=Raghvendra|first1=Rao|last2=Liz|first2=Mathew|title=Govt under fire for using old version of Constitution Preamble without 'secular' word|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/ad-shows-constitution-without-socialist-or-secular-creates-furore/|accessdate=6 July 2016|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=28 January 2015|location=[[New Delhi]]}}</ref> 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 [[swadeshi]] in their clothes, but were extremely western in their thought, outlook, affiliations and deeds.<ref>{{cite web|title=Interviews with Tabassum - Shree 420|publisher=Doordarshan}}</ref>

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

== In popular culture ==
* The opening section of the 1988 novel [[The Satanic Verses]] by [[Salman Rushdie]] has the character 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 ''[[Mississippi Masala]]'', at a significantly tense moment during the [[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]]:
<blockquote>This is truly the age where the ''joota'' (shoe) is Japani (Japanese), ''patloon'' (pants) is Inglistani (English), the ''topi'' (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.</blockquote>
* In the 2009 movie ''[[Today's Special (film)|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 [[Rico Bernasconi|DJ Rico Bernasconi]] featured on the [[Buddha Bar]] XIV compilation features the original recording.
* In the 2013 film ''[[Gravity (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.<ref>[http://www.dnaindia.com/entertainment/report-raj-kapoor-s-song-mera-joota-hai-japani-was-perfect-for-gravity-phaldut-sharma-1912358 Raj Kapoor's song Mera joota hai Japani was perfect for Gravity: Phaldut Sharma], ''DNA India'', 1 November 2013</ref>
* In the 2006 novel ''[[The Inheritance of Loss]]'', by [[Kiran Desai]], Biju, an [[Indian-American|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 (film)|Deadpool]]'' (2016).<ref name="ryan">{{cite news|title=Ryan Reynold's Deadpool has a famous Bollywood song playing in the background|url=http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/hollywood/060216/ryan-reynold-s-deadpool-has-a-famous-bollywood-song-playing-in-the-background.html|accessdate=6 July 2016|work=[[Deccan Chronicle]]|date=6 July 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Music of Bollywood]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

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[[Category:Hindi film songs]]
[[Category:Number-one singles in India]]
[[Category:Indian patriotic songs]]
[[Category:Songs about Japan]]
[[Category:Songs about India]]
[[Category:1955 songs]]
[[Category:Songs with music by Shankar Jaikishan]]
[[Category:Mukesh (singer) songs]]
[[Category:Songs with lyrics by Shailendra (lyricist)]]
[[Category:Indian nationalism]]
[[Category:Japan in non-Japanese culture]]

{{1950s-song-stub}}

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Mera Joota Hai Japani