Raaz Reboot is the fourth installment in the film series that began in 2002 with Raaz. Emraan Hashmi joined the star cast in the second part Raaz: The Mystery Continues (2009) and has since featured in Raaz 3D (2012) and the fourth movie that will be released on September 16. Mohit Suri directed the second part while Vikram Bhatt has helmed the rest.
Melodious music has been a regular feature of the horror film series. The songs of Raaz, written by Sameer and composed by Nadeem Shravan, are counted as among their best collaborations. Singer Alka Yagnik received a Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer nomination for the hit track Aapke Pyaar Mein, filmed on Malini Sharma and Dino Morea.
The multi-composer soundtrack of Raaz: The Mystery Continues managed to throw up such surprises as the hit songs Maahi, composed by Toshi-Sharib, and Soniyo, composed by Raju Singh, but the movie could not replicate the success of its predecessor.
Raaz 3D had music by Jeet Gannguli and Rashid Khan. A pattern had been formed by this time. The tunes sounded similar to the earlier albums, and both the film and the music received lukewarm responses.
Jeet Gannguli has returned to share the music credits for Raaz Reboot with Sangeet and Siddharth Haldipur. The Haldipur brothers have composed one of the seven tracks on the album.
The album begins with the slow ballad Lo Maan Liya, sung by Arijit Singh. Lyricist Kausar Munir writes “Lo maan liya dekha hi nahi, tere kaandhe ka woh til” (I have accepted that I have not seen the mole on your shoulder), which appears to be a nod to the famous line “Ek so solah chand ki raatein, ek tumhare kaandhe ka til” (A hundred and sixteen moonlit nights, a mole on your shoulder) from Gulzar’s song Mera Kuch Saamaan (Ijaazat, 1988). Like in Ijaazat, the Raaz Reboot track is about the theme of separated lovers.
In Raaz Aankhein Teri, Singh continues the mourning, moving up from the shoulders to the eyes. It sounds no different from the previous tune. O Meri Jaan, sung by KK and composed by the Haldipur brothers, is yet another dull follow-up to the Gannguli tunes. Hummein Tumhe Jo Tha is the only duet, written by Rashmi Virag and sung by Palak Mucchal and Papon in funereal tones.
Yaad Hai Na gets two versions, one by Singh and Jubin Nautiyal’s unplugged version. Nautiyal’s rendition is a refreshing change from Singh’s drawl. Simple riffs accompany his version on an acoustic guitar , in which Munir’s poetry comes through in the lyrics “Jo teri raaton mein saansein hai chali, yaad hai na (How I have breathed in your nights, do you remember?)
The album ends with The Sound of Raaz, an a capella rendition of the lyrics of Raaz Aankhein Teri. This haunting version gives Raaz Reboot a better leitmotif than all the other dreary tunes. It is the only track that is a genuine reboot, giving listeners the chills prior to the film’s release.