The video begins with a flicker of menace. Actor Akshaye Khanna walks into frame; the beat drops, and in no time, FA9LA becomes a mood. Soon after Ranveer Singh-starrer Dhurandhar’s release at the box office, that clip was everywhere. Reel by reel, edit by edit, the track, crooned by Bahraini rapper Flipperachi, surged across Instagram, stitching into fan tributes and slow-motion swagger cuts. The regional smash hit found a second life, this time in India, where Flipperachi is gearing up to perform for a multi-city concert, with the first stop in Mumbai and second in Bengaluru.
The 36-year-old recalls how Singh sharing the track on Instagram sent it into overdrive. “I realised it the moment the film came out and Ranveer posted it. Immediately, it caught on social media and I knew this was about to be special,” he recalls the ‘surreal moment’.
The playful, high-energy FA9LA’s story began in a studio session with producer DJ Outlaw. The minute he got the beat, Flipperachi says, he felt like they already had a hit. He built the song, quite literally around movement. “The way I approached writing the song was to make it around different dances. So the lyrics are basically different dance moves strung together with some popular meme references. When FA9LA [also crooned by Daffy] first came out in 2024, it actually went viral in our region and in Sri Lanka as well,” the singer, also known for hits like Ee Laa, Samboosa and Camouflage, reveals.
Then came Dhurandhar, and with it, reinvention of the celebratory song. Khanna’s intense screen presence too changed the game. What was once a dance anthem was now carrying an edge. Lauding Khanna, Flipperachi says, “I loved it. Akshaye’s performance gave the song a different persona. The song was purely perceived as a fun number. But that moment in the film, the villain-energy, gave it a twist. The beat has some dark elements, which the production team caught and felt would be a great fit for the scene, so props to them.”
For Flipperachi, the crossover into Bollywood didn’t dilute the track, rather it expanded it. The viral moment opened many doors for the rapper, as he shares, “When we’re writing and putting out songs, we don’t necessarily see all the opportunities that can come with it. The song has opened me up to a whole new market and I’m currently working on multiple projects with Indian artistes. There are a few collabs in the works that I’ll be announcing soon. The songs with each artiste are all very different in style and I can’t wait for people to hear them.”
Now, the artiste, whose song travelled to India before he did, is preparing to meet his fans in person at his concert presented by Outlaw Productions and Rebellion Management. He is aware that the song is everywhere and that crowds already know every beat drop. During his upcoming show, the track that crossed borders digitally will finally echo in front of a crowd. While fans will wait with bated breath for that now-iconic opening beat, Flipperachi hopes they come for more. “People know me from one song and are going to be excited to watch that one song performed live, but I’m going to show them a lot more than that. Every one of my songs is different from the other, so there will be something for everyone,” he promises excitedly. As for Bengaluru? He’s keeping it simple – “I’m big on spicy food. So, I’m looking forward to trying a lot of dishes for sure.” For now, the focus is the stage and the beat that went from a studio spark to a cinematic storm.
(Flipperachi will perform live at Phoenix Marketcity in Mumbai on March 13 and at UN40 Music Festival in Bengaluru on March 14. For details, visit evalive.in or bookmyshow.com)