The friendly voice on the other end of the phone sounds excited. It’s 9 pm in Tanzania. Five minutes ago, when Neema Paul answered our call, she had excitedly asked where his brother Kili Paul was. “There is a call for him from India,” she says, coming back on the line to share that her brother has just stepped out to run some errands. The brother-sister duo became an overnight internet sensation last week after their video of lip-syncing ‘Raatan Lambiyan’ from the film Shershaah went viral on Instagram. Fifteen minutes later we hear from Kili. “Namaste. How are you?” he greets us over a zoom call along with his sister Neema.
Life, he admits, changed overnight after their video of lip-syncing went viral, “We have not been able to understand what has happened. We are elated with all the responses and all the love that India has been showering on us. It is simply amazing to see how so many people from your country are supporting and encouraging us. We have realised that Indians don’t pass fake comments. They are demanding us to do more videos and we will do it for them. We realised that music has no boundaries and can bring people closer.”
The duo from Tanzania not only melted hearts online but also garnered attention from ‘Raatan Lambiyan’ singer Jubin Nautiyal and composer Tanishk Bagchi, who shared Kili and Neema’s video on their respective Instagram Stories. Shershaah actress Kiara Advani also shared their video on Twitter.
Talking about lip-syncing on Raatan Lambiyan, Kili says, “I was searching for some songs and I came across this beautiful melody and I even loved Jubin Nautiyal’s voice. That’s how I decided to do it.”
Dressed in traditional Maasai clothing, the tribe that they belong to, Kili and Neema are immensely grateful to social media. It’s what’s made them the star that they are today, helping them see their big dream come true – that of being famous, “We never thought we could become so popular. I have been doing this for some time now but it is only in the last few days that we have been able to go viral,” says Neema who doesn’t like to talk much.
With over 1.5 million followers on TikTok, the 26-year-old stays in the outskirts of Dar Es Salaam, the financial capital of Tanzania, and is a farmer by profession. Explaining his process the noted content creator says, “It takes us around two to three days to learn an entire song. We go on Youtube and learn the lyrics first and then google how those words are pronounced. We also try and find the English meaning of the song as it allows us to give it our own touch. There are times when we don’t understand the meaning but when you love something, you will try and do that with all your heart.”
Kili also posted a video of another popular song, Shah Rukh Khan’s Zaalima from Raees (2017), “I had made that video around four months back and had put it up on my TikTok account but no one noticed it that time. After Raatan Lambiyan went viral, I decided to post it again and people have loved that too. We recently lip-synced on Kusu Kusu as Neema really loved the tune and the lyrics,” he says with a lot of excitement. “I did a video where I danced on Badshah’s Jugnu. He is really amazing.”
The internet sensation says that his love for Bollywood started when he was young, “I love Bollywood movies. I watch them. I love Salman Khan. He has an amazing style and screen presence. I also like Tiger Shroff. He is very acrobatic and does some cool action.”
Talking about her favourite stars, Neema says, “I love Hrithik Roshan. He looks really handsome. I really love him. I also like Madhuri Dixit. She is a great dancer.”
Ask Kili if he has any aspirations of becoming a playback singer in Bollywood and he says, “I haven’t really thought or planned about it, but if it happens then yes. I’d love to come to India and spend some time there and hopefully meet some Bollywood stars,” he signs off.
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