Ittefaq Se: Reprise version of Raat Baaki lacks timeless charm, organic intrigue of original

It is rather unusual for a Karan Johar film to have only one song. But his next co-production, Abhay Chopra’s thriller Ittefaq , will have no songs barring the reprise version of the iconic song ‘Raat Baaki’ from Prakash Mehra’s 1982 action comedy Namak Halal. [caption id=“attachment_4168053” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sidharth Malhotra, Akshaye Khanna and Sonakshi Sinha in a still from Ittefaq. YouTube[/caption] Rechristened as ‘Ittefaq Se’, the reprise version will serve as the title song of the BR Chopra’s 1969 film’s remake. The original composition by Bappi Lahiri remains intact to a large extent, besides the fact that the song has now been EDMised by Tanishk Bagchi, who also composed two popular reprise versions earlier this year in ‘ The Humma Song ’ from Shaad Ali’s Ok Jaanu and ‘ Tamma Tamma Again ’ in Shashank Khaitan’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania. Bagchi also doubles up as the lyricist as he provides additional lyrics along with Groot. The original lyrics are penned by Anjaan. But the low point of the reprise version is its vocals by Jubin Nautiyal and Nikita Gandhi. The westernisation of the vocals detracts from the timeless charm that the original track, sung by Asha Bhosle and Lahiri, boasted of. The visuals, though intended to be so, appear too orchestrated. Rather than adding to the drama, they only make matters worse by making the song come across as too staged and synthetic. Ittefaq stars Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha and Akshaye Khanna. It is co-produced by Johar’s Dharma Productions, Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment and Renu Ravi Chopra’s BR Studios. It is slated to release on 3 November, along with Rakhee Sandilya’s romantic comedy Ribbon.