Premiere: Indo-Australian Artist Vinny Lunar and Producer Low Beams Get Entranced in Trippy ‘Hai Rama’ Video

When Sydney-based artist Vinny Lunar aka Vinay Seethamraju first sings “Hai rama yeh kya hua” on his song “Hai Rama” with producer Low Beams, the Bollywood influence is very much instantly recognizable. The Hindi hook to the buoyant R&B, reggaeton and hip-hop informed bop “Hai Rama” is inspired by A.R. Rahman’s song of the same name, sung by Hariharan and Swarnalatha for the 1995 film Rangeela.

Vinny Lunar and Low Beams take that seductive, heady power of the classic Nineties Bollywood song and put their own upbeat spin on it, with the music video for “Hai Rama” incorporating a few filmi elements such as dance from the artists and actor Anum Azzaz in the video directed by Sydney’s Daniel Stapleton and edited by Stackhat. Vinny Lunar enlists the help of choreographer Aditya Bahl (also based in Sydney) to bring out a few moves himself, donned in a shiny sherwani, no less.

Stapleton said in a statement about the video, “We wanted to create a video that would transport our viewers to a different world. We wanted to tap into Vinny’s affection and childhood experience of watching Bollywood movies with the modern R&B sound to create something truly unique.”

Vinny says in his statement, “There is a sensuality embedded in Indian culture and dance that’s worth celebrating and appreciating. The charm, confidence, and playfulness of male Bollywood protagonists are met with the elegance and innate beauty of the women they are wooing.”

Born in Hyderabad, raised in Australia and also a resident in Germany and Sweden, “Hai Rama” is part of Vinny’s 2022 genre-hopping EP Chauffeur, which was his way of tapping into more Indian influences, albeit subtly, in his R&B, hip-hop and pop songs with Low Beams. There are bright yet bittersweet songs like “Jumpin’” alongside the sitar-sampled nocturnal jam “Chandra” and the breakfree “In My Blood,” in which the artist raps frankly about his diasporic identity over tabla rhythms. With the spacey “On The Outside,” there’s more of that life-affirming sense of freedom as an Indian-origin artist.

Prior to Chauffeur EP, Vinny Lunar also leaned on his Telugu roots with the 2021 single “Prema,” which also carried references to Bollywood and had a smattering of Hindi lyrics. The artist says he’s on the lookout for working with more producers and composers in India to further his music-making approach for what might come out next.  

Watch the video for “Hai Rama” below. Stream ‘Chauffeur’ EP here.