The pandemic was the time when were confined with the four walls of our home and had a variety of things to explore. On social media there were numerous people who were making big and one such artist is Yohani. The Sri Lankan singer, composer, songwriter tried something at her home which became viral instantly and in two years, she became a part of Bollywood music industry. Her song Manike from Thank God starring Nora Fatehi and Sidharth Malhotra is winning the hearts of the audience since day one. In an exclusive interview with team MissMalini, Yohani speaks about the story behind the viral track, her parents support, learning Hindi and lots more.
Before checking out her interview, let’s look at the song here:
Check out the excerpts from the interview:
On starting her journey from YouTube to making a Bollywood debut as a singer, Yohani says…
I would say my journey was very fast. It has been amazing two years. Manike Mage Hite also has a journey of its own and I enjoyed it a lot.
Elaborating the idea behind creating Manike, she shares…
When I made it for the first time, it was pet project kind of a thing. I created it during the pandemic because we couldn’t move around. I had recorded it at home and it happened very quickly. It is a simple love song with simple video. We just did it for fun that time. And after that one year later, it got its place as a Bollywood song. That has been a huge jump.
On collaborating with Kunal Deshmukh in Shiddat for a female version, Yohani says…
Well, I am not quite sure when I did Shiddat’s song. It could recall if it happened before or after getting signed by T-Series. The makers of Shiddat wanted me to sing in it and that time I was not knowing Hindi. I was driving at that time and I quickly looked into the lyrics. For Manike in Thank God, this time, I had to go through a lot of lessons when it came to learning Hindi words and pronunciations. Now, I can’t speak Hindi fluently I can manage to say few sentences. I can say bahut mushkil hai.
About family support, she says…
In 2019, I decided to take music as a career, until then I was doing something different. At that time, my parents were like what are you doing in your life? When I told them that I want to take this career path, they were really supportive.
While missing out big time on playing sports, Yohani shares…
Just before coming to India, I was playing futsal. It is a modified form of soccer played with five players per side on a smaller, typically indoor, pitch. I miss that and I am trying to find a team to play here. In Sri Lanka, we play a lot of Futsal.
Elaborating more on her favorite musicians, she says…
There’s no particular genre that I listen to or the language when it come to music. If I like a song, I would listen to it. I can’t pick one. I have been inspired by a lot of people. Spice Girls, BeeGeesm Elton Johan, and also Eminem has been a huge inspiration in my life. I had also been to his concert once. The song which is currently in my mind is Manike and when you ask a particular Hindi track then I can only think of Pehala Nasha.
Yohani is looking forward to make more music and collaborate with different composers in her musical journey in India.