Race 3 song: Atif Aslam does all the heavy lifting in Salman Khan's 'Selfish' ode to love

After all the memes over the dialogues from Race 3, it takes a certain courage to release a song with 'selfish' in it. But Salman Khan is nothing if not brave. The actor makes his debut as a lyricist with the 'Selfish' song from Remo D'Souza's upcoming action thriller.

Sung by Atif Aslam, and Iulia Vantur, the song features the three key characters of Salman Khan, Bobby Deol and Jacqueline Fernandez.

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The visualisation of the song has all the characteristics of a romantic ballad number and hints at a love triangle between Deol, Fernandez and Khan's characters. As the song progresses, the scenes alternate, showing the romantic interactions between, first, Khan and Fernandez, and later, Deol and Fernandez. While the actress looks gorgeous as usual, the actors have the easy task of singing along Atif Aslam while romancing the lady.

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The song itself is quite melodious and an earworm that fits the Salman Khan film template. While it has been in the buzz for its writer, it is the presence of Iulia Vantur as singer that adds another dimension to the song.

However, Vantur has a very nominal singing here. While her accent adds to the English verses, there is little to make an impact.

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Atif Aslam does the majority of the heavy lifting, and with good reason. The singer's vocal range and modulations raise the quality and intensity of the song. Vishal Mishra does a good job building around Aslam's vocals with the guitar as his key rhythm conductor.

As for the lyrics, they carry the signature Salman element of colloquial, and hip talk. The actor's fans will ensure a runaway success of the song, but it lacks any philosophical depth. The simple rhyme scheme lends a musical quality to the entire composition, and that deserves some praise for the new lyricist. The use of English words in the middle of a fairly easy spoken Hindi seems a little jarring at first, but blends into the music later.

Watch the song here: