Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 4, 2017)

After lending her voice to “Let’s Celebrate”, a racy track from her 2015 action film Tevar, Sonakshi Sinha did the T-Series single “Aaj Mood Isqholic Hai” the same year. The 30-year-old actress followed it up with playback alongside singer-composer Vishal Dadlani for the track “Rakjj Rajj Ke” in A R Murugadoss’s Akira and, more recently, “Move Your Lakh” with rapper Badshah and actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh. Meanwhile, she made her TV debut as a judge on the singing reality show Indian Idol Junior 2, and was one of the opening acts for British band Coldplay’s Global Citizen concert in Mumbai last November.

Now, the actress’s newest musical tryst sees her collaborate with Canadian rapper-musician Parichay (of “Aaj Phir Peene Ki Tamanna Hai” fame). The duo has reportedly recorded a modern, soulful rendition of National Award-winning composer MM Kreem’s lilting ditty “Tum Mile Dil Khile” from the 1995 Telugu-Hindi bilingual Criminal. While the original song had featured Manisha Koirala and Nagarjuna in a dream sequence, Sonakshi’s video is yet to be choreographed but will have the singer-actress at the centre of a stylised set-up.

“Parichay and Sona met five months ago and recorded the track over a series of studio visits. While the lyrics of the chorus are the same as the original and sung by Sonakshi herself, Parichay joins in for a rap verse. The music video is expected to be completed later this year. While the video will be solely focussed on Sonakshi, Parichay will appear on screen in some portions,” says a source close to the development.