‘Manike Mage Hithe’ in Bollywood: Sri Lankan sensation Yohani to sing in upcoming Ajay Devgn-starrer Thank God

The cover version featuring Yohani became viral on Instagram Reels and streaming platforms. (Twitter/Yohani)

Sri Lankan singing sensation Yohani, who first rose to fame in India with her viral ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ (In My Heart) earlier this year, will make her debut in Bollywood with a Hindi version of the song in Thank God, film critic Taran Adarsh has revealed.

The Hindi version of the song, a Sinhala song originally sung by Satheeshan, will be composed by Tanishk Bagchi. Rashmi Virag has been roped in to write the lyrics for the song. Directed by Indra Kumar of Dhamaal and Total Dhamaal fame, Thank God will feature Ajay Devgn, Sidharth Malhotra, and Rakul Preet Singh.

The current version of ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ is itself a cover version of Satheeshan’s original, which was released in 2020. Produced by Chamath Sangeeth with lyrics written by rapper Dulan ARX, the song narrates the tale of a beautiful girl in a rural village in Sri Lanka. The singer is hopelessly in love with her and implores her not to swat him aside.

The cover version featuring Yohani became viral on Instagram Reels and streaming platforms. It surpassed 100 million YouTube views, while reaching Number 1 in iTunes’ Top 100 in Sri Lanka, India, and the Maldives. The song also charted in the Top viral 50 in Spotify India and Spotify Global.

Producer Yashraj Mukhate covered the song, while several YouTubers also took a shot at creating their own rendition to reach a wider audience.

Kerala-based Anas Shajahan uploaded a Tamil version of ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ on YouTube, following which Sangeeth contacted him for a collaboration. That collaboration resulted in official Malayalam and Tamil versions of the song, both featuring Yohani.

Yohani also made an appearance on Bigg Boss 15 with Salman Khan where she made the Bollywood superstar sing along to the song. The video featuring Salman singing ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ with Yohani also went viral.