“Yakhi doos doos indi khos fasla… yakhi tafuz tafuz wallah khos raqsa…”

Yes, it’s been over a month since Dhurandhar hit theatres, but its Netflix release gives even more reason to hum the Arabic track Fa9la. The song is in Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, everywhere. But many across India and Pakistan suggested that a 1980s political song from Karachi’s Lyari would have suited the slow-motion moves of Rahman Dakait (played by Akshaye Khanna) better than Fa9la.

“It should’ve been Dilan Teer Bija instead,” commented a person on X. Another said, “If Dhurandhar already had so many retro tracks from the 1980s, the Baloch song, Dilan Teer Bija, could have elevated the feel”. Fans took no time to flaunt their skills. Not one or two, but dozens of fans swapped Fa9la for Dilan Teer Bija in the Reels. Of course, there was an optimist. “Relax… Dhurandhar 2 is expected soon in March. You never know,” said the person, hoping that Dilan Teer Bijan could feature in the sequel.

But beyond the edits and the hype, what struck me most going through the comments was the popularity of the Baloch song in Hyderabad and that many from the city in Telangana said that no Hyderabadi shaadi (wedding) was complete without Dilan Teer Bija. The song, Dilan Teer Bija, was the anthem of the Zulfikar Ali Bhutto-founded Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP). But how did a 1980s song from Karachi, an out-and-out political anthem, find a central place in Hyderabadi weddings, right alongside haleem and biryani? Interestingly, there’s a common thread about how haleem and Dilan Teer Bija reached Hyderabad.

It is Dilan Teer Bija’s tune that is played by bands at Hyderabadi weddings. However, even the song is played on DJ sets.

Social media videos of baraats and wedding parties in India and abroad show Hyderabadis losing it the moment Dilan Teer Bija was played. “Full-dabakey,” (meaning completely, all out!), Old City-based music junkie Talha Imam said on being asked how big the song is to Hyderabadi shaadis. It’s remarkable that the tune of a PPP song with Balochi and Sindhi lyrics, with a political core, has found pride of place in Hyderabadi weddings. Imam didn’t know the tune was from the song Dilan Teer Bija.

India Today Digital spoke to several people in Hyderabad and the wider Dakkan region to understand how the “Bhutto song” from Karachi’s Lyari became a staple, 1,500 kilometres away. Among those we spoke to are a Muslim community leader associated with the Jamaat-e-Islami Hind (JIH), a senior journalist who worked in Hyderabad, a Hyderabadi PhD scholar of economics, a music buff from the Hyderabad Old City, and a local bandmaster who routinely performs the beats of the Pakistani song at wedding processions with the quintessential Afro-Arab marfa beats. Is it the song Dilan Teer Bija itself or its beats that are actually big in Hyderabad?

Also, did film stars, Amitabh Bachchan and Chiranjeevi play any role in popularising the song’s tune in India by any chance?

Srihari, a 26-year-old Hyderabad native, told India Today Digital that “Dilan Teer Bija is hugely popular and is called the “Bhutto song” locally. Contrary to popular perception, it isn’t just played at Muslim weddings. I have heard people dance their hearts out to Dilan Teer Bija even at Hindu and Christian weddings. And, its reach isn’t limited to Hyderabad either”. The song, Srihari added, “is a wedding hit across several districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh”.

Some call it the Bhutto song. Others have named it after Marfa beats. A Hyderabad-based band master, Munnu Miya, told India Today Digital, “Although the boys play the tune at every baarat, I am not aware of its origins or about its similarity to any Pakistani song. We learnt the tune from the older generation.”

It is actually the tune that plays and has been playing in Hyderabad for decades. It was only after the song came in through CDs, pen drives and the internet, that Dilan Teer Bija, the song got recognition in Hyderabad of India, not the one in Pakistan’s Sindh.