BOMBAY TIMES (January 9, 2017)

Shah Rukh Khan aka Raees will make Sankranti special this year, as his song Udi Udi Jaye based on the colourful festival will be out this week. Here's an exclusive still from the romantic track also featuring Mahira Khan. What makes the song all the more special is its language. Composed by Ram Sampath, penned by Javed Akhtar and sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Bhoomi Trivedi and Karsan Sagathia, it is King Khan's first song in Gujarati. The track will see the actors soaking in festive revelry.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, Raees releases on January 25.
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MUMBAI MIRROR (January 9, 2017)

With the content of Raees topping the charts already, looks like there's more surprise coming in for all Shah Rukh Khan fans! News is a special song will be released which is especially themed around one of the most celebrated festivals of India, Makar Sankranti. The harvest festival has fallen on January 14 this year.

Shah Rukh aka Raees will be seen humming the song titled “Udi Udi“ in the film which the makers have dedicated to this festival and are all set to release soon. The title of the track, which is composed by Ram Sampath, written by Javed Akhtar, and sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Bhoomi Trivedi and Karsan Sagathia, sinks in just right with the occasion that demands kite flying! This marks the first song of SRK in Gujarati which now will be played around Makar Sankranti every year! The track will be released closer to the festival.

The trailer of the film gave us a glimpse of SRK flying a kite on a rooftop, and now we know why! It's going to be one heck of a sight to watch SRK flying kites in the song which also features his ladylove, Mahira Khan. Fans are excited to watch Shah Rukh as he dons his raw and rugged action avatar in the film. There seems to be absolute no stopping for the content of the film which has been universally proven to be a hit. Each unit of Raees, from the trailer to the music, to the dialogues and the style, has been fast catching the audience's attention emerging to set trends.

Directed by Rahul Dholakia, Red Chillies Entertainment and Excel Entertainment Present, an Excel Entertainment Production, Raees is set to hit screens on 25th January 2017.
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Director reveals much happier image of superstar playing garba in Gujarat for the dark don drama, Raees
Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; January 9, 2017)

Where there’s a festival, Bollywood will have a song. Ahead of Makar Sankranti (January 14) — the kite flying festival, the makers of upcoming film, Raees, will unveil a special track titled Udi Udi in which lead actor Shah Rukh Khan will be seen doing garba for the first time on screen.

A production insider says, “It is a fun song that captures the spirit of the festival. SRK along with his heroine, Mahira Khan, will be seen doing garba steps. They share crackling chemistry on screen.” Composed by Ram Sampath and written by Javed Akhtar, the song has been sung by Sukhwinder Singh, Bhoomi Trivedi and Karsan Sagathia.

Raees director Rahul Dholakia, who is a Gujarati himself, says, “Uttran is one of the biggest festivals in Gujarat and garba is our state dance. No film rooted in Gujarat is complete without either of them. A majority of writers in the film were Gujaratis and we decided to include a special song, which will take the story forward.”

The filmmaker adds a special manja (thread) was procured from Surat for the shoot. “SRK’s character is an expert at cutting other people’s kites. There is a dialogue where he says, ‘Agar katne ka darr hota na, toh patang nahi chadhata, firki pakadta.’. To lend authenticity to the character, we decided to use Surti manja, which is razor sharp. He actually cut his fingers a couple of times during the song shoot,” Dholakia adds.

A still from Raees’ new track picturised with kites and garba