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In the song Poovukkul from the movie Jeans (1998), when the Empire State Building is shown, there is a chorus of "Je vous aime" ("I love you" in French) along with a line sounding like "jeau zang fi" (sorry if I transcribed it very badly).

Similarly, when the Pyramids of Giza are shown, there is a chorus of "ajooba ajooba" ("wonder" in Arabic) and something like "ooh aao imoki" (sorry if I transcribed it poorly once again). I want to know what these sentences sung in the chorus are which I am not able to understand.

This is the Google Drive link for the reversed audio of 4:23-4:41 from the above linked video, which can be helpful if the "ooh aao imoki" phrase is a reverse of something in some language.

I have searched about these on Google but couldn't find anything.

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  • genius.com/Anirudh-vijay-poovukkul-olindhirukkum-cover-lyrics? Commented Oct 8, 2024 at 11:50
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    When exactly do you hear "jeau zang fi", in between the "Je vous aime"? That is "Je vous aime" as well, just with a different rhythm and melody. That's the composer's musical choice. The words have the same meaning. If I understand correctly how your transcription aligns with the music, the "fi" is the sound of several music instruments, maybe an egg shaker that sounds like "f" and strings or wind instruments that sound like "i". Commented Mar 2, 2025 at 23:50
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    Immediately after every "Je vous aime" except the last one, there's another "Je vous aime". I suspect that you transcribed the "j" and "[z]" at the correct times. Try to hear the other sounds of "Je vous aime" in between them. "Je vous" instead of the "jeau" you wrote, and "aime" instead of the "ang" you wrote. Regarding the "fi", see my first comment. Commented Mar 5, 2025 at 21:57
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    That phrase sounds weird, I agree with the answer that there's a chance that it might be playing backwards. Someone can reverse the audio so we listen whether it sounds more natural then. But it won't sound quite normal because that will reverse the reverb. And I doubt that reversed audio fits the style of the song. Also consider asking on a language website what language that might even be. (Mostly vowels are heard, maybe that's a hint.) Commented Mar 6, 2025 at 11:16
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    reddit.com/r/translator ... Thanks for the reversed audio. The reversed audio sounds weirder than the "ooh aao imoki". So I think that "ooh aao imoki" is normal, not reversed. Commented Mar 8, 2025 at 18:12

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Thanks to OP for providing the backmasked version of the track. You and @root are correct: it's not backmasked, but it did help my thinking. I've amended my answer below.

First, the segment you mention at 2:31 until 3:00s in the video you linked is, as you say, "Je vous aime" but in half notes (spoken twice as fast).

The second phrase (occurring at 4:24 in the video you link) is "Ajuba", likely in Urdu (عجوبہ عجوبہ), not Arabic.

The third element, the background phrase sung immediately after the above, is in the Tamil:

ஊ ந ந லுக்கி லுக்கி (Ū na na lukki lukki) which is "Oh, look, look."

It's easier to hear if you listen to it wearing headphones.

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  • Yeah sorry, I got confused as the word for 'wonder' in Arabic and Urdu are quite similar. Commented Mar 5, 2025 at 16:06
  • Hi, I've edited the question to add a link for the reversed audio for the "ooh aao imoki" phrase. Would you mind taking a look at it? Commented Mar 8, 2025 at 10:38
  • OccasionalEnthusiast thanks to you and @root for your thoughts and advice. I think I have it now and I've amended my answer. Commented Mar 9, 2025 at 4:20
  • I can only hear "oo aao imoki" in the third element, where exactly are the ந and லு(lu) sounds? And how did you figure out what langauge this phrase is in? Commented Mar 9, 2025 at 8:59
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    I isolated the vocals using a signal processor, then listened to it numerous times to get the meter. Commented Mar 9, 2025 at 12:55

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