Sri Lankan Yohani impresses in her maiden Hindi single. The quality of the music, singing and the picturesque locations of Leh make the T-Series single a mesmerizing pop number.

By Mayur Lookhar

She’s a girl from the Emerald Isle. He is a man from the hills. Though poles apart, it is music that often bridges the divide. All you need is hop into a little van and what follows is a true joyride. Having collaborated with Jubin Nautiyal for the Hindi remake of her Sinhala original track Manike Mage Hithe, the Sri Lankan singer has joined hands with her Indian counterpart this time for her maiden Hindi single.

Titled Tu Saamne Aaye, producer T-Series released the single on Thursday [24 November] in Karjat, Maharashtra. The road trip (media junket) to Karjat was worth it as the soothing pop track infused new life into the tired bodies. We’d expected Yohani to get just a couplet or two in the Hindi song, but the Sri Lankan pleasantly surprised us by doling out a proper duet. It would be unfair to comment on the pronunciations. It is a brave call by the Sinhalese to even attempt the Hindi single. Yohani has her fair share of verses. Honestly, she did pretty fine with the Hindi.

Music never has any language. It’s the sheer voice quality of Yohani that has made her the pop queen of Asia and a global star. The single was meant to be a solo, but Yohani joining Jubin Nautiyal has elevated the overall experience of Tu Saamne Aaye. Rocky Khanna’s lyrics are fairly simple but it is the music, singing and the visuals that combine to give a refreshing experience.

Shot in Leh, Ladakh, director Navjit Buttar has created a fine visual story too. Maybe, Yohani and Mateen Vakil’s characters are known to each other, but it appears that Jubin Nautiyal and Sakshi Joshi are strangers who have befriend each other during this trip. Ah, this is the stuff of fantasies especially when travelling solo. Jubin and Sakshi hit off instantly. Jubin croons with Yohani. The clear blue skies of Leh are always a sight to behold. It’s matched by the clear tones of Nautiyal and Yohani.

The Indian singer naturally leads the way delighting us with his mellow tone. Though mellow, this performance required a certain power, energy from him. We particularly liked the second verse [Joh tu saamne aati hai] where Nautiyal changes the tone [chest to head voice] brilliantly.

We weren’t quite impressed with Yohani and Nautiyal’s effort in the Hindi remake of Manike Mage Hithe. Private music space though entitles musicians to explore, and express their talents. Yohani and Nautiyal complement each other finely here. If we heard correctly, the duo also divide the titular lyrics between them with Yohani passing the baton to Nautiyal.  Chuck the pronunciation, but Yohani’s crooning of the words Teri rooh, ae rubaru [penultimate verse], splitting each word into two and the tone, is simply majestic.

The duet effort owes a lot to its smooth, riveting composition by lyricist Rocky Khanna and Jubin himself. The song has a vibe to it from its opening beat, and despite the different tempos, it never goes astray from its hook music. 

Early this year, we saw a fine single Meethi Meethi from Nautiyal. Tu Saamne Aaye though supersedes that experience by a mile. The music, visuals, the tones give the listener some serious travel goals.

Watch the Tu Saamne Aaye single below.