Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday (February 27) praised Tanzanian social media stars, the brother-sister duo of Kili and Neema Paul, for lip-syncing to the Indian national anthem on Republic Day, and paying tribute to Lata Mangeshkar. Modi mentioned them in his Mann ki Baat programme to underline the potential of Indian music as a tool of culture diplomacy, to connect people beyond borders, and to spread awareness about India's diverse languages among the youth. 🗞️ Subscribe Now: Get Express Premium to access the best Election reporting and analysis 🗞️ Who are Kili and Neema Paul? Kili, 26, and Neema, 23, are cattle herders from the Eastern Pwani region of Tanzania. In an interview to BBC Africa, they said there was no electricity in their village, and that Kili travelled to the nearest town of Lugoba every day to charge his mobile phone. It was to reduce the drudgery of their lives that the siblings, dressed in traditional Masai attire, started to lip-sync to songs on Tik Tok. Bollywood songs were a natural choice for Kili, who became a fan of Hindi films while at school in the Tanzanian capital, Dodoma. “I fell in love with the movies and their songs. When you love something, it is not difficult to pick up or mimic,” he had told the BBC. He roped in his sister Neema, an aspirant actress, to lip-sync with him. During rehearsal drills they understood the lyrics in English so they could emote accurately in front of the camera, and then learnt the words by heart. They became an overnight sensation last year when their lip-sync video on the song Raatan Lambiyan went viral on social media. This encouraged them to perform to Hindi, Haryanvi and Punjabi hits. But it was their lip-sync video tribute on Lata Mangeshkar’s song Jaane Kya Baat Hai that touched hearts. Then on Republic Day, they lip-synced to Jana Gana Mana with intense feeling and hand gestures. Sincere, honest Most fans are touched by their sincerity, honesty and the fact that they don’t change their get-up as performers, but are upfront about who they are. Kili is completely overwhelmed by the number of views and the responses from Indians around the world. Their Instagram page has more than 2.5 million followers, including celebrities such as Richa Chadha, Gul Panag, and Ayushmann Khurrana. Cultural ambassadors Bollywood is one of India’s soft diplomacy assets, and the brother-sister duo have started receiving a few offers. The Indian High Commissioner in Tanzania felicitated them at his office, the pictures from which Kili shared on his Instagram handle. On top of this comes the PM's endorsement. The PM said: “Just like the sibling duo of Kili and Neema, I urge everyone, especially kids from different states, to make lip-sync videos of popular songs (from a state different than theirs). We will redefine ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ and popularise Indian languages.” He appreciated the fact that Kili and Neema took pride in their identity while performing to Indian songs. Newsletter | Click to get the day's best explainers in your inbox
