[11] As Rais Khan's mother was a singer and his father was a beenkar (veena player), a unique combination of khyal (the most popular classical vocal style), dhrupad (the older and more orthodox classical form) and thumri (lyrical semi-classical form) – 'angs' (approaches) developed in his playing.

[13][9] In 1955, Khan was chosen to represent India in the International Youth Festival in Warsaw, where 111 countries took part in the string instrument conference.

[5] In India, he played a key role by his association with film composers like Madan Mohan which resulted in many super-hit songs.

[14] Like his uncle Vilayat Khan, whose music had exercised considerable influence on him, he often sang and demonstrated compositions on the sitar.

Rais and Bismillah Khan (shehnai player) used to collaborate and perform together in live concerts as a duo,[8] like the one at India Gate in New Delhi on 23 November 2001.

[16] In 2014, he performed "Hans Dhuni" and "Mein Sufi Hoon" (with Abida Parveen) in season 7 of Coke Studio Pakistan.

"[5] Shortly after his death in 2017, National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) held a musical night in tribute to Rais Khan.

His fingers had that rare touch.”[8] In a tweet, Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar called Khan “sitar ke jaadugar” (lit.