Sri Lankan singer Yohani’s professional rise in Bollywood was happening at a time when her country was facing its worst economic crisis and the irony of it isn’t lost on the singer, who says dealing with events while being in a foreign land was particularly heartbreaking.
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Earlier this year, Sri Lanka battled the worst economic crisis in its history and plunged into an unprecedented turmoil, with an acute shortage of essentials such as fuel and medicine. It triggered massive protests, which forced Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign as President, a post taken over by Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Yohani, who became a viral sensation with her chartbuster track Manike Mage Hithe, told indianexpress.com that the only way to rebuild after the crisis is through hope. “Of course, it was heartbreaking. My family, my parents, my team are all there and I am in Mumbai, I am not with them. It is heartbreaking. But the only way through is to face it and keep going forward.”
The singer has been in the country for a while now and has already sung two Hindi songs- the romantic ballad Shiddat, composed by Manan Bhardwaj and the remix version of Manike for the upcoming Ajay Devgn-Sidharth Malhotra starrer Thank God.
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When asked if she felt guilty for not being with her family when they were going through the crisis, the 29-year-old singer said, “I didn’t feel guilty, I did feel upset that I was not there. There are so many people, I can’t bring everyone to India! But my music can reach them.”
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For the Hindi version of Manike, Yohani has collaborated with singers Jubin Nautiyal and Surya Ragunaathan. The song video features Sidharth Malhotra and Nora Fathei.
The singer said she felt “amazing” when she saw the video of the track, which had completed a surreal journey of starting out as a mere home cover to now being part of a Bollywood feature.
“The song has travelled a lot, it felt amazing. I am truly grateful for that. It feels like a dream, but what keeps me grounded is my music and being true to my art,” she added. The song has been composed by Tanishk Bagchi and Chamath Sangeeth
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Directed by Indra Kumar, Thank God also stars Rakul Preet Singh and Seema Pahwa. The film is slated to release on October 25.
