Mamdani stuns Bangladeshis with 30-second Bengali speech

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani addressed Bangladeshi students in Bengali, inviting high schoolers to watch Broadway shows.

He made these remarks in a video message on Monday, which quickly went viral. Mamdani spoke in Bengali, and the release of this video has caused a massive reaction online.

Members of the Bangladeshi community are now debating whether Mamdani had been learning the language, was using artificial intelligence (AI) to fake fluency, or had mastered the language with great dedication using an app.

While he had previously used a few words like “How are you? Are you well?” during election campaigns in Bengali neighborhoods, he spoke in Bengali for around 30 seconds in the latest address to students.

The video was produced in partnership with the Theatre Development Fund. Its purpose was to promote a lottery that is providing 2,000 free Broadway tickets to high school students across five areas of the city.

In addition to Bengali, the video was also made available in Spanish, English, and Mandarin.