For singer-songwriter Subhi, the upcoming July release Smurfs is special for more reasons than one. “I have not created a song for an animated film before this, so it was a new experience for me. Also, this is the first Hollywood film for which I have written and created music. If I’m not mistaken, I am also the first south Asian artiste to sing in Punjabi on an animated Hollywood film,” says the musician of Indian descent who features alongside ace musicians like DJ Khaled, Cardi B, and Natania for the Smurfs’ song, Higher love. 

Describing Higher love as a track that talks about how “love conquers all,” she expresses gratitude for the opportunity to get an insight into the characters she was creating music for. “[During our initial discussions], the movie was in a sketch format. For certain scenes, we were shown sketches [because] it hadn’t been animated then. The team explained the kind of song they wanted, and the vibe that they needed. It wasn’t as simple as saying, ‘Yeh scene hai. Gaana banao.’ We got the full experience of who these people are and what Smurfs is about. We got the bigger picture behind the characters and had discussions about the references. It was fun. Another learning experience was the manner in which we had to add Indian influence into a mainstream Hollywood project without rubbing it in, in a stereotypical way. That’s a delicate balance to strike.”