Zaalima Explained

Zaalima
Cover:	Zaalima Raees Cover.jpg
Caption:	Official song cover
Artist:	Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur
Album:	Raees
Language:	Hindi Urdu
Genre:	Romantic Ballad Indian pop Filmi
Composer:	JAM8
Lyricist:	Amitabh Bhattacharya

"Zaalima" is an Indian song from the Hindi film Raees. The song is written by Amitabh Bhattacharya, composed by JAM8 and sung by Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur. The music video of the song is picturised upon actors Shah Rukh Khan and Mahira Khan.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]} The song was choreographed by Bosco-Caesar.

Background

Actor Shah Rukh Khan shared multiple teasers of the song "Zaalima" on Twitter along with some lyrics before the full release of the song.^{[5] [6]}

The female singer of the song Harshdeep Kaur informed to the Indian media in an interview, that the female pitch of the song had to be sounded different than the male pitch in the song.

She continued, "When I first heard "Zaalima," I knew this song would be a hit." It has a great recall value and is a very catchy song. We have never before heard the word "Zaalima" in a love song.^[7]

Release

Upon its release within three days the song garnered over 20 million views.^[8]

As of October 2021, the song has more than 283 million views on YouTube official video, which makes it one of the most-streamed Bollywood songs on the platform.^[9]

Critical reception

Bollywood Hungama's Joginder Tuteja in the review of the song Zaalima wrote, "Amitabh Bhattacharya's lyrics carry a mature flavour to them and the moment Arijit Singh starts rendering these words, 'Zaalima' goes to a different level altogether. Moreover, Harshdeep Kaur's voice is an added asset to this wonderful song that has in it to find running on a repeat mode after it has been heard once".^[10]

Times of India in its review of the song wrote "JAM8's 'Zaalima', showcases Shah Rukh Khan at his romantic best. The melody is striking, and Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur stand out in the number, which gives the word zaalima (oppressor) a poetic twist".^[11]

Personnel

The song credits mentioned in the official music video's description of the song Zaalima on YouTube are,

• JAM8 – music
• Amitabh Bhattacharya – lyrics
• Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur – vocals
• Dj Phukan, Sunny M.R. – sound designers
• Sourav Roy, Dj Phukan, Sunny M.R. Rohan Chauhan, Arijit Singh – programmers
• Shadab Rayeen – Mixing and Mastering Engineer
• Abhishek Sortey – Assistant
• Ashwin Kulkarni – Shoot mix
• Ashwin Kulkarni, Himanshu Shirlekar, Aaroh Velankar, Kaushik Das – recording engineers
• Akashdeep Sengupta, Kaushik Da, Tushar Joshi – vocal conductor.
• Firoz Shaikh – harmonium
• Alan Hertz – drums
• Ernest Tibbs – bass
• Iqbal Azad – duff
• Pawan Rasaily and Arijit Singh – acoustic guitars
• Pawan Rasaily – electric guitars.^[12]

Accolades

Year	Award Ceremony	Category	Recipient	Reference(s)
2017	MT20Jubilee Awards	Golden Disc	Amitabh Bhattacharya, JAM8, Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur	^[13]
	24th Screen Awards	Best Male Playback	Arijit Singh	^[14]
	Tune India Radio Awards, Australia	Best Male Playback	Arijit Singh	^[15]
		Best Song	Amitabh Bhattacharya, JAM8, Arijit Singh and Harshdeep Kaur
2018	Zee Cine Awards	Best Lyricist	Amitabh Bhattacharya	^[16]
	10th Mirchi Music Awards	Upcoming Music Composer of The Year	JAM8	^[17]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Zaalima song lyrics raees. 18 June 2017. 5 March 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190305075004/http://www.lyricsletters.com/zaalima-song-lyrics-raees.html/. dead.
2. Web site: Pritams latest venture composes songs for shah rukh Khan's raees. 18 June 2017.
3. Web site: Zaalima song review by news media firstpost. 7 July 2017.
4. Web site: Zaalima song review by Hindustan Times. 8 July 2017.
5. Web site: Raees song teaser: Shah Rukh Khan shares glimpse of 'O Zaalima' and spells magic with his voice. Watch videos. 18 June 2017.
6. Web site: O Zaalima teaser. 7 July 2017.
7. Web site: No pressure singing zaalima in raees harshdeep kaur. 18 June 2017.
8. Web site: mahira srk zaalima breaks internet with 20 million views. 18 June 2017.
9. Web site: Zaalima . . . 12 December 2020.
10. Web site: Music critic review by Bollywood Hungama. . 18 June 2017.
11. Web site: Times of India:Music Review Raees. . 18 June 2017.
12. Web site: See song credits in the description of the music video. . 18 June 2017.
13. Web site: MT20Jubilee Awards. https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/BXVkDB4gIrP . 24 December 2021 . registration. 3 August 2017. Radio Mirchi. Instagram.
14. Web site: Star Screen Awards 2017: Full list of winners. timesnownews.com. 4 December 2017. 5 December 2017.
15. Web site: Tune India Radio Australia's listeners voted Arijit Singh Best male playback singer for 2017 and best song 2017. 13 December 2017. Twitter.
16. Web site: Zee Cine Awards 2018 complete winners list. 21 December 2017. The Indian Express. 26 December 2017.
17. Web site: 10th Royal Stag Mirchi Music Awards: Complete list of winners. 29 January 2018. The Times of India. 10 February 2018.