‘This song has always been lucky for me’: Pune professor who went viral singing ‘Mehbooba O Mehbooba’ at college fest

An engineer by training, Reddie graduated from College of Engineering Pune and has spent over two decades in academia. At Sri Balaji University, he teaches operations management, supply chain and quality systems—drawing on his shop-floor experience to keep lessons practical. He began teaching part-time while working in the industry, with stints at the Institute of Management Development and Research (IMDR) and the Indira Institute of Management Pune, before joining SBUP full-time.

Lambada and an R D Burman favourite

Music, however, has always been a parallel thread in his life. As a college student, he was actively involved in cultural activities and later became part of the Lambada band led by Manoj Pandya in the 1990s. That phase found a larger stage at the Express Youth Forum—a cultural competition organised by The Indian Express—where his band won three years running.

“That was our hat-trick phase,” he recalls. “It was during one of those finals that our band leader suggested performing Mehbooba O Mehbooba. He said the song had a punch,” says Reddie. The band even created an extended version for the competition—a move that paid off when they won. “So in a way, this song has always been lucky for me.”

The track remains a favourite. “It’s one of the most electric songs of its time,” he says, crediting R D Burman’s distinctive, rustic vocal style as a key influence.

Reddie’s choice of song at the fest was both personal and symbolic—a tribute to the university’s founder and a brief breather during ongoing semester exams. “It was one of the songs admired by our founder, Colonel A Balasubramanian. It was also a moment to relax, and to show students a different side,” he says.

When he took the stage, anticipation quickly turned into a full-blown crowd moment. Students cheered, recorded, and sang along, making it a shared experience rather than a staged act.

It was a student—also a social media influencer—who first brought Reddie’s performance to a wider audience by posting the video. The response has been just as animated as the performance itself—users flooding the comments section praising his energy and stage presence, many calling him the “coolest professor” they have seen.

Others leaned into nostalgia, while a recurring line captured the mood—though it tells only half the story: “Born to be a singer, forced to be a teacher.” Many have also urged him to perform beyond campus.

‘If people want me on stage, I’ll be there’

Behind the viral moment is a life rooted in Pune. Born in Chennai in 1969, Reddie moved to Pune in 1975 following his father’s posting with Finolex Cables. His mother, a well-known Mathematics teacher fondly called ‘Aunty Reddie’, remains his biggest supporter. An alumnus of Loyola High School Pune, Fergusson College Pune and College of Engineering Pune, he is as fluent in Marathi as he is in music. His wife, an electrical engineer and former batchmate, and his daughter, now settled in Boston, have been equally thrilled by the response.

SBUP Pune Professor Balaji S. Reddie went viral this weekend after his electrifying performance of Mehbooba O Mehbooba clocked millions of views on social media.

Reddie is candid about the realities of performing. “There is a certain amount of ageism—people often judge you by how you look before they hear you,” he says, noting that presentation can matter in band culture.

The response to his recent performance, though, suggests the stage cares little for such judgments. “Even after retirement, I’ll continue singing—if people want me on stage, I’ll be there,” he adds, smiling, while admitting he now plans to learn the ropes of social media from his students.

For someone who has balanced classrooms with a lifelong love for music, this moment has reaffirmed a simple truth: passion doesn’t fade with time; it just waits for the right moment to be heard.

Neha Rathod is an intern with The Indian Express