Moscow, December 4, 2025
Picture this: Vladimir Putin, the guy who usually stares down world leaders like he’s playing chess with real armies, suddenly turns into a soft-hearted uncle talking about Raj Kapoor movies and how Russian kids grew up humming “Awaara Hoon.
That actually happened tonight.
In a 100-minute interview with India Today’s Anjana Om Kashyap and Geeta Mohan, straight from the glittering Ekaterina Hall in the Kremlin, Putin let his guard down in a way nobody expected.
He smiled – a real, crinkly-eyed smile – and said Indian culture feels like a “fairytale” to Russians.
Not politics. Not trade. A fairytale.
He remembered how, back in Soviet days, people would queue for hours to watch Sholay, Disco Dancer, and Awara. “Your songs, your dances, your colors – we fell in love with all of it,” he said, almost wistfully. “Even today, when an Indian song plays somewhere, hearts melt.”
You could almost hear a billion Indians quietly tearing up.
Then he went full fanboy about PM Modi. He laughed recalling that now-famous unplanned car ride in Delhi last year. “We just said – forget the motorcade, let’s drive ourselves,” he grinned. “We talked like normal people, not presidents.”
He called Modi a “true friend” who “never bows to pressure,” praised India’s 7.7% growth (“the fastest in the world!”), and basically said the West can keep its sanctions – Russia will keep sending cheap oil, S-400s, nuclear submarines, BrahMos missiles, the works.
India is not a country that takes orders,” he said firmly. “India gives orders to history.
Damn.
He even joked that their friendship is so real; they don’t need translators half the time – we understand each other from half a word.
Hours later, Putin landed in Delhi. Modi broke protocol, went straight to the airport, and pulled him into one of those trademark bear hugs. The two men stood there smiling like old college buddies who hadn’t met in years.
Tomorrow they’ll sign a bunch of big deals – trade hitting for $100 billion, new defense stuff, logistics pact, maybe even something on AI and space. But honestly? Tonight wasn’t about the papers.
Tonight was Putin telling the world – loudly and emotionally – that Russia’s love for India isn’t strategy. It’s family.
And for once, nobody in the room doubted him.
Sources:
- India Today exclusive interview with Vladimir Putin, aired Dec 4, 2025
- Live coverage of Putin-Modi airport hug, ANI/PTI
- Kremlin readout and India-Russia joint statements preview
