In 2015, President Barack Obama was invited to be the guest of honour at India’s Republic Day parade. One thing kept his team up all night in the days leading up to the event. The members of his staff conducted hours of research, tried different alternatives and – once an option was finalised – painstakingly coached Obama through it.

What was the issue disturbing them? Deciding which Bollywood line the President should quote in his speech.

It was no laughing matter. His Indian counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had set a high bar when, a few months earlier, he had brought the house down at Madison Square Garden in New York by bidding the audience goodbye with “May the Force be with you.” That Modi delivered a Star Wars line while ­X-Men star Hugh Jackman stood next to him on stage, trying to be a sport, made the line even funnier.