Raj Kumar Gupta's Raid might be set in Lucknow, but its music is straight out of the green plains of Punjab. After the take on Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's famous song 'Sanu Ek Pal Chain', composer Tanishk Bagchi has returned to traditional Punjabi music with the latest track 'Nit Khair Manga'.
Featured on Ileana D'Cruz and Ajay Devgn's characters, the song takes on a romantic touch through its visuals. Whilst the film revolves around the fiery clash between the income tax officer Amay Patnaik (Devgn) and the political mafia (Saurabh Shukla), the songs so far seem to revolve around the more familial relationships between Patnaik and his wife (D'Cruz).
Sung by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan again, and composed by Tanishk Bagchi, the song retains its traditional rhythm and flavour. Bagchi has toned down the pace of the song to give it a more melodic, romantic feel.
Khan delivers again with his soothing vocals. The quality of his voice makes it self-explanatory as to why the singer continues to be in popular demand among composers, despite the attempt by political circles to prevent Pakistani artists from being a part of the Hindi film industry.
Manoj Muntashir's lyrics add some variation from the 'sufi' style.
However, holistically, the composition is quite ordinary and does not manage to create an impact different from the previous works made famous by the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and later Hans Raj Hans. Nonetheless, it is a simple, sweet rhythm to listen to.
Raid is scheduled to be released on 16 March 2018.
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