Raees Song: Sunny Leone Slays In New Age Laila Main Laila. Shah Rukh Khan, Move Over

New Delhi: It's hard to improve on a classic. It's also hard to keep eyeballs and attention on oneself when sharing the screen with Shah Rukh Khan. Sunny Leone manages both in Laila Main Laila, the new song from Raees that is a remixed version of Zeenat Aman's original disco number from 1980 film Qurbani. Laila Main Laila released online on Wednesday and it is, in a word, fabulous. Sunny, 35, dances to the hit track in what appears to be a dance bar setting, watched by a crowd that includes Shah Rukh Khan's character, the titular Raees Alam. Laila Main Laila, recreated by Ram Sampath, is the only appearance Sunny Leone makes in Raees. Ram Sampath changes little in Kalyanji - Anandji's composition, thankfully, while Javed Akhtar provides additional lyrics to those of Indeevar. The scene shifts from a posh club to a desi pub, therefore Sunny Leone's characterization is different from that of Zeenat Aman. But watch Sunny dance to the song and you'll have no complaints.

Shah Rukh Khan also makes an appearance in Laila Main Laila, looking like he means business and only mixing it with fun for a few seconds. Towards the end of the song, SRK, who plays liquor baron Raees bhai, is back in grim form with a gun in his hand, shooting down enemies.

Video: Watch Sunny Leone's Laila Main Laila from Shah Rukh Khan's Raees

Just for reference, do take a look at Zeenat Aman's version from Qurbani:
 

The arrival of Laila Main Laila was heralded by several tweets from Sunny Leone and this one from Shah Rukh Khan:
 

Maybe if I try my old world charm, Laila will be here faster. If some of you can also give it a go...?! pic.twitter.com/rX9hNivPfI

— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) December 21, 2016

Of the song and its importance in the film, Sunny Leone told news agency IANS: "I feel that this particular song has an important part to play in taking the film's story forward. I don't understand what the term item number means anyway. From the beginning, Bollywood films have had some of the most amazing songs and people look forward to that."

Sunny has earlier featured in special song sequences like Laila Teri Le Legi from Shootout in Wadala and Pinks Lips from Hate Story 2. She also grooved to Baby Doll in her own film Ragini MMS 2.

If you like Sunny Leone's Laila Main Laila, then you join her fan club along with Shah Rukh's wife Gauri Khan, who, according to Sunny, liked the song very much. She told PTI: "I saw him (Shah Rukh) and his wife (Gauri) during Diwali party at Aamir Khan's house. I asked him how is the song looking he said very sweet, his wife said it is looking really good. I was extremely nervous. She said it's looking amazing. When a woman says something is looking good then you know it's looking good otherwise we don't speak, don't make comment. But she said it looks amazing, great. She made me feel better. Even Shah Rukh Khan said it's looking really good," she said.

The Rahul Dholakia-directed Raees, which also stars Nawazuddin Siddqui and Pakistani actress Mahira Khan, will release on January 25, alongside Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil.

Meanwhile, Sunny Leone is currently filming Tera Intezaar with Arbaaz Khan. She also has cameos in Ajay Devgn and Emraan Hashmi's Baadshaho and Sonakshi Sinha's Noor.