Michael Jackson died earlier today. [NYT]

From a desi perspective, Michael Jackson toured Indian in 1996 and did a show in Mumbai. Here’s a few highlights from that trip (video below):
-He was greeted at the airport with the traditional local greeting complete with maala, aarti and tilak by Marathi mulgi, Sonali Bendre.
-Raj Thackeray was among the reception party. Asked how he felt about Jackson’s visit, he replied “Best best”.
-Jacko visited Bal Thackeray’s residence. Legend has it they still haven’t flushed the toilet he used.
-The video has Jacko hanging out with some local slum kids.
-And finally, his show was the hottest ticket in town. Heck, who are we kidding? Barring cricket games, few events have come anywhere close to this event.
-Jackson was supposed to tour India 4 years earlier but his tour was cancelled following health issues.
-Jackson is the one Western artiste who known to even the common man in India.

Video highlights of Jackson’s India visit and Mumbai show.

Here’s a few more Jackson references from Indian pop culture:

Chiranjeevi does Thriller, aka, Chiller

Filipino inmates enact Thriller. Ok this one’s not desi but it’s still pretty cool and above all, we blogged it.

Dance sequences and music videos in the early-mid 90s were heavily influenced by MJ. Leading the way was dancer-masquerading-as-actor, Prabhu Deva.

There are a lot of negative facets about his life, particularly the child molestation allegations. But strictly from an entertainment perspective, few can equal him. His highness, the crotch grabbing King of Pop, will be missed.

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