India and UAE come together in a mash-up song

The UAE and India have come together once again for a cultural collaboration, this time in the form of song. Emirati singer Adel Ebrahim, known for works such as Dani Dan and Ah Ya London, has joined forces with Dubai-based Indian singer Nishita Charles for a mash-up track titled Mile Sur, available online.

The song, which mixes Bollywood, Khaleeji and electronic styles, launched on YouTube this week and has been enjoying radio play.

It features imaginations of the 1988 song Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, whose video aimed to promote unity among India’s diverse citizens, and A.R. Rahman 2004 classic Ye Jo Des Hai Tera from the film Swades, a Shah Rukh Khan film whose lyrics depicted a person’s longing for their homeland.

The collaboration comes in time for the 68th Indian Republic Day on January 26, which will welcome His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, as a chief guest. A contingent of 179 UAE soldiers will take part in the parade.

Charles said the idea to create the song came to life quicker than she expected it to.

“I have been really lucky to find like-minded people who were willing to collaborate to create this beautiful collective performance considering it is has no commercial interests. It was an honest attempt to work across the two cultures to bring about a sense of unity,” she said in a press release.

Ebrahim, her chief collaborator, expressed his love for Indian culture, with Bollywood at the forefront of his admiration.

“The Indian and Emirati culture have a lot in common in terms of sentiment and values, and music really has no boundaries in any case as long as it touches the heart,” he said.

Young creatives Mahesh Raghvan and Riyaz Shah arranged the composition, while Pradeep Kalipuyarath and Rohit Jayakaran shot and edited the music video, which has nearly 15,000 views on Raghvan’s YouTube channel at time of writing. In the caption, he called it “a tribute to the friendship between our country and the UAE — a place that has been home for millions of Indians and myself.”