The grand premiere of ‘Thank God’ courtesy of Siddhivinayak Cine Arts Colombo was held on 25 October 2022 at the Savoy Premiere in Wellawatte.
‘Thank God’ is the official Bollywood remake of a Danish film titled ‘Sorte Kugler’. It is a fantasy comedy drama film directed by Indra Kumar starring Indian cinema juggernauts Ajay Devgn and Sidharth Malhotra.
The film is of particular significance to Lankan audiences as its soundtrack features the song ‘Manike,’ which is a remake of the Sinhala language song ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ made popular by singer Yohani.
The original distributors of the song Bonfire Sri Lanka were also present at the launch. Bonfire Distribution Inc. CEO Sandun Wijemanne shared that as Sri Lanka’s first-ever music distribution company, they were happy and proud to have played a part in having a major Bollywood film feature an original Sri Lankan production.
Producer of the original track ‘Manike Mage Hithe’ Chamath Sangeeth spoke to The Sunday Morning Brunch about the collaboration between himself and Tanishk Bagchi on the melody of this particular reimagining of the song. “We made very slight changes to the original,” Sangeeth said. Addressing the sheer impact that such a collaboration will have on the Lankan music industry, he noted: “It is unfortunate, but until now we have not had the opportunity to share our work with our neighbouring country. To be featured in one of their works has allowed us to be global in something other than cricket.”
Sangeeth also added that hopefully, this would be a starting point for Lankan talent, noting that Sri Lanka did not have a talent issue but rather a lack of opportunity. He said that he hoped to make the best of the opportunities that had been presented to him, sharing that he currently had some works in the pipeline, including a joint venture with Bollywood great Mukesh Bhatt, which Sri Lankans could certainly look forward to.
