Udi Udi Jaye: Raees song shows Gujarat at its best; sure to be a Makar Sankranti favourite

The latest song of Raees, ‘Udi Udi Jaye’, brings to life what had been missing in whatever we have seen of Rahul Dholakia’s crime drama so far — the vibrant state of Gujarat. [caption id=“attachment_3200640” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Shah Rukh Khan and Mahira Khan in a still from Udi Udi Jaye. YouTube[/caption] No, it is not an ‘ek din toh guzaariye Gujarat mein’ tourism promotional song but a romantic-cum-dancer number revolving around a couple enjoying the festivities of the state. The song has been divided into three settings. It starts with Shah Rukh Khan’s character peeking into a room in which Mahira Khan’s character is dancing uninhibitedly. We must admit that Mahira looks best in that scene in spite of the fact that she has donned heavy make up and bright traditional attire in the remainder of the song. Shah Rukh lets his charm seep into the song bit by bit as the song proceeds to the terrace during the festival of Makar Sankranti. Javed Akhtar’s lyrics come into play here as he resorts to the formulaic maanjha (thread) and patang (kite) jugalbandi as the hook line of the song. Given his illustrious body of work, this song hardly matches up to his standards though we are hopeful (of being wowed more) when the entire audio is released. The second setting of the song beautifully captures the Makar Sankranti fever of Gujarat. The elaborate garba sequences with embellishments of colourful kites and embroidered umbrellas in the background add to the detailing and overall impact of the song. Though we have seen more fluent movements in films like Abhishek Kapoor’s 2013 buddy drama film Kai Po Che, Samir and Arsh Tanna’s choreography comes as a treat to our eyes as we finally get to see Shah Rukh shake to some good ol’ latkas and jhatkas. Also, it is exciting to have Sukhwinder Singh lend his voice to Shah Rukh after their iconic collaborations in ‘Chhaiyya Chhaiyya’ (Dil Se), ‘Dard-e-Disco’ (Om Shanti Om), ‘Chak De India’ and ‘Haule Haule’ (Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi). Bhoomi Tripathi also lends good support with her vocals though she still has quite a long way ahead. After the second setting which covers the majority of the song comes the third one when the couple tie the knot in traditional Islamic fashion. Mahira’s wink in the mirror comes across as a perfect exclamation point to their love story. On the other hand, Shah Rukh, who plays a don in the film, strikes that fine balance between stiff body language and a stern expression with his swift movements and an occasional cracking of smile. Overall, while Ram Sampath does not add his eccentric touch to this composition and goes for a rather pan-Indian appeal rather than incorporating Gujarati nuances, this one is nonetheless going to be a chartbuster given the appropriate time it has been released. It was a smart move on the makers’ part to unveil it a couple of days prior to Makar Sankranti as this one is sure to be blaring from speakers on every terrace come Saturday.