It was destiny, it seems, that Slumdog Millionaire’s award-winning song would become an anthem. Corporate executives so smitten by the words that they are now using Jai Ho as salutation and valediction in their e-mails. What’s more, the term has captivated even international clients.

“After the movie’s success, most of my international clients started using Jai Ho in the valediction. Since the Oscars, almost every mail I got from my international clients had Jai Ho either as salutation or valediction,” says Malviya.

One of his clients, Nigel Cotton of Germany, wrote that the only thing he wanted to see after the Taj Mahal when in India was Slumdog Millionaire in an Indian theatre; all he would want to carry back was a DVD with the song Jai Ho on it.

“Namaste was very common, until Jai Ho took over. It’s very emotional to get such letters. No matter how different that person is, you automatically relate to him if he uses your language. Moreover, after eight Oscars, the words have a sense of pride associated with them,” says Malviya.

Dutchmen Edwin Koot and Johan Trip, now in Pune, are other Jai Ho fans who use the words in all their letters. Trip took his family to watch the movie back home and now prefers to write Jai Ho in every mail to his colleagues or friends, irrespective of their nationality.

Roger Little, CEO of Spire Corporation, US, who has a special liking for India and keeps visiting Pune for business, found it appropriate to replace ‘Hi’ with Jai Ho in his e-mails and says it’s been well accepted.

In India, of course, the youth have almost declared Jai Ho as their anthem. Diwesh Diwakar, manager of Quadrangle (naukri.com), did not lose a day in starting the trend in his office. He calls it the root effect.

“In villages of Bihar, people still wish each other by saying Jai Ho, and thanks to the song the expression is universal now. By using it I also feel nearer my roots as I hail from Bihar. Moreover, my colleagues also liked it and now we have a Jai Ho team in office,” Diwakar said.

“The song is full of life and it reflects youth. I got a mail from my sister from Canada congratulating us on the Oscars win and she concluded the mail with Jai Ho. Since then I have been using the expression in all my mail. Even over the phone or in person, we greet each other with Jai Ho,” says Harshit Verma, a student.