An ode to forever love

Here's a comedian who can sing and how!

The last thing you would expect a young star YouTuber-comedian, with over 18 million subscribers to his channel, is to sing mellifluously. Perhaps the second last thing you would expect is to find yourself swaying to his simple yet lilting song about those eternal star-crossed lovers, Heer Ranjha.

But, that is Bhuvan Bam for you. A trailblazer in every way, this young entertainer, who runs the hugely popular ‘BB Ki Vines’ on YouTube, was apparently a musician before he tried out his comedic talents. Heer Ranjha is the seventh single he has written and composed himself. Unsurprisingly, within a month of its release, the song has garnered, hold your breath, over 13 million views, which speaks, one suspects, for the artiste’s popularity rather than the song’s intrinsic merit.

That said, the track with its, well, sometimes-funky, sometimes-dreamy video of two lovers separated by circumstances and yet yearning for each other, is strangely addictive. I admit I did go back for another listen and I might go yet again. Bhuvan has said before in interviews that he was motivated to write this song because of how we were all stuck inside our homes and distance seemed infinite. To his credit, the music is evocative and it helps greatly that Bhuvan’s voice is mellow and thus much suited to croon about lovers who don’t meet and loves that are forever.

Play By Ear showcases a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity.