In the sequel Dhurandhar, Akshaye Khanna garnered attention for his spontaneous dance to the Sher-e-Baloch anthem. His energetic entrance to the Bahraini track FA9LA by Flipperachi became an online phenomenon. With Akshaye’s character meeting his end in this installment, Ranveer Singh steps into the limelight with his own anthem in Dhurandhar: The Revenge. As Hamza, played by Ranveer, navigates his rise to power and earns the trust of the Baloch community, he makes a grand entrance at the camp, greeted by a lively performance reminiscent of FA9LA, albeit set to a different tune.
Ranveer Singh’s Sher-e-Baloch entry song is titled “Didi,” created by Algerian artist Khaled. Originally released in 1992, it quickly became a chart-topping hit and has been remade and adapted into various languages, including Hindi, long before the release of Dhurandhar 2.
Known as Cheb Khaled, the singer’s Arabic raï song explores the deep bond between two people. A notable part of the lyrics translates to, “I’m burning in the fire of love, but you’re not. I won’t let you go so I don’t weep later (always be near). But alas, fate isn’t on my side. Take take (Didi Didi), take take the beautiful girl away.” The word ‘didi’ in Arabic translates to ‘take’.
Upon its release, “Didi” topped the charts across France, Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, and was even featured as one of the opening songs for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Earlier reports hinted that Ranveer would have his own song akin to FA9LA in Dhurandhar 2. Interestingly, his song was filmed just a day before Akshaye’s FA9LA in Ladakh. A source revealed, “After Akshaye’s character Rehman Dakait is killed, the Sher-e-Baloch title transitions to Ranveer’s Hamza in the sequel. The song celebrates his rise to power. Aditya filmed Ranveer’s segment on the same set in Ladakh, choosing to shoot both songs back-to-back due to the demanding weather conditions.”
There have been several adaptations of “Didi” over the years. One of the earliest was by Moroccan-Belgian artist Brahim, who added English lyrics in 2005. Subsequently, in 2007, the German duo Milk & Honey released an all-English version with fresh lyrics and a new arrangement.
The song has since been covered in a multitude of languages, including Greek, Spanish, Russian, Albanian, Turkish, Persian, Urdu, Serbian, and German, among others. In India, “Didi” has seen numerous adaptations, notably the Hindi song “Ladki Ladki” from the Bollywood film Shreemaan Aashique (1993). This song was also loosely sampled in “Suno Suno Meri Rani Ji” by Bappi Lahiri and Kavita Krishnamurthy from the 1994 film Brahma. The 1995 Malayalam movie Highway featured the song prominently, even showcasing Khaled’s original music video. More recently, the 2016 film Airlift reimagined the song in Hindi as “Dil Cheez Tujhe De Di,” sung by Arijit Singh and Ankit Tiwari, featuring Akshay Kumar. Additionally, the 2020 Malayalam film Dhamaka included a cover of the song as “Potti Potti,” directed by Gopi Sundar.