Rhythm of Love: In conversation with Tokhuli Yepthomi

Bollywood aficionado Tokhuli Yepthomi from Nagaland has gone against the grain by singing covers of Hindi songs. Her latest song, a mashup of a Hindi and Punjabi Love Song has garnered over 240000 views within a month and listeners are eagerly awaiting more songs by the melodious artist.

Today’s Rhythm of Love has all the details on Tokhuli Yepthomi!

Eastern Mirror: Could you introduce yourself to our readers?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: My name is Tokhuli yepthomi I’m from Sunito Village (Khaghaboto area).

Eastern Mirror: Who and what inspired you to sing Bollywood songs? Which artist/s do you look up to?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: I grew up watching Indian reality shows and I always used to sing with my Dad when I was very young. I look up to Shreya Ghoshal and Palak Muchal

Eastern Mirror: You have a good grasp of Hindi as can be heard in your Bollywood cover songs. How did you become so fluent in Hindi whilst singing?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: I grew up watching Indian TV shows and maybe that’s how I learnt it.

Eastern Mirror: Any plans to compose original Hindi songs in the near future? What about English songs?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: Yes I’m working on my first original song (Hindi), it will be out before the end of this year and about English song? Maybe no.

Eastern Mirror: At what stage in your life did you feel confident enough to try singing Hindi songs?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: I started performing on stage during my Hr.sec days and from there I got a lot of compliments which boosted my confidence even more… so that’s when I realised I should continue singing Hindi songs. 

Eastern Mirror: As we look at today’s musicians, few artistes from Nagaland have broken the tradition of singing English songs and have started singing in various dialects. What is your take on this new genre of singing Bollywood songs?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: Yes indeed that statement is very true. And for me I’ve never been formally trained, but I got this gift from God, so I want to take this to national level and I hope I will get all the support from my people and people around the world.

Eastern Mirror: How do you feel about social media? What do you think social media has done for your career so far?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: Social media is the biggest platform where I get to share my gift with people not only here but all around India and more. So I think that social media has played a vital role in my career so far.

Eastern Mirror: Which artist would you like to collaborate with if given a chance in the future?

Tokhuli Yepthomi: Arjit Singh and Jubin Nautyal

Eastern Mirror: Did you ever think that the Hindi and Punjabi love song mash-up music video would garner so much positive feedback from viewers? You got 223k views within a month!

Tokhuli Yepthomi: That was a big moment in my career I should say. And honestly I never expected this much love from people. But it happened that way and I’m so thankful and grateful for that. Right now I’m very excited but also nervous because I don’t want to disappoint any of my supporters in any way.