Akshaye’s moves are boujee: FA9LA rapper Flipperachi

Just when fans thought nothing could top the frenzy sparked by Bobby Deol’s Jamal Kudu moment in Animal , Akshaye Khanna walked in – dancing to Fa9la by Flipperachi. The swag, the villainous smile, the unbothered vibe he brings to the track make it clear – this moment belongs to the song.
Little wonder then that Fa9la , produced by DJ Outlaw, is everywhere right now. With 12,854,383 views on YouTube, over 2 billion views on TikTok across videos using the hashtag, and 14 million streams on Spotify till mid-December, it has quietly become one of India’s most consumed songs at the moment. And memes about Akshaye’s hotness quotient or what the singer is trying to say is a big topic on social media – though most fans would admit they don’t understand the lyrics at all.

‘Fa9la is a vibe - you say that to the people - I have a vibe’Bahrain-based rapper Hussam Aseem, aka Flipperachi, tells us that the song was made as a Khaliji/Indian fusion and in Arabic so that a large audience can relate and vibe to it. “In Bahrain, there is a big Indian community, so we always like to mix cultures with Khaleeji music. We wanted to do something that had tabla . The inspiration was from DJ Outlaw, and then we sat down wanting to make something catchy, and we started working on the chorus. We went ahead with Fa9la . Fa9la is a vibe you say that to the people, ‘I have a vibe’. We made the vibe about dances, everything was done around that, and then it took shape. Cultures can connect with each other through music, and this is living proof that an Arab can reach Bollywood and really curate something that’s trending,” he says.




I’d like to collaborate with someone like Badshah: Flipperachi
Flipperachi adds that the song worked because it created a moment. “People have formulas to make a hit, but it is the process of making a scene, a moment – that’s what made people attracted to it and love the track. Akshaye’s moves are quite natural in the song. I’m thinking about redoing my dance (the dance he first did on TikTok when the song went viral) on Akshaye’s moves. Those are some boujee moves, and he went with it. I was told he asked if he could dance, and his entry was supposed to be villainous. The song has some villainous tunes, but it is actually a party song. When the team of Dhurandhar reached out to us, they wanted the track specifically for that scene. I thought people would not understand a word of the song, but it worked. I knew this song was great. We dropped it a year ago, but I didn’t know it would blow up like this in Bollywood,” says the rapper, who blended Arabic rap, hip-hop, and Khaleeji music with Indian influences for the song.‘WHEN MY MOTHER ASKED ME WHY I AM POPULAR IN BOLLYWOOD, THAT’S WHEN I KNEW HOW FAR THE SONG HAD TRAVELLED’When asked how the community in Bahrain reacted to this viral moment, he says, “One of my colleagues in India taught me this and it has the same meaning here – ghar ki murgi daal barabar . It’s like your art has to reach around the globe to be appreciated in your country. I experienced that first-hand.”

“Now everyone in Bahrain is like, ‘Oh, we have this song and this rapper!’ Friends who hadn’t spoken to me for years are reaching out. My mother has Indian and Moroccan staff, and they kept telling her your son is popular in Bollywood now. She asked me, ‘Why are you popular in Bollywood?’ That’s when I knew how far it had travelled. I don’t tell my family such things unless it is big. Sometimes I like watching how far something goes, and when it reaches your family, it’s fun to see.”


‘We are in talks of coming to India soon’With the song continuing to trend, Flipperachi is now looking ahead. “We are in talks of coming to India soon. I would like to collaborate with someone like Badshah and a Punjabi artiste – something new and engaging for the community. I like Badshah, I love his vibe. I’m also looking forward to meeting Akshaye Khanna and probably doing a dance with him. I would love to speak to him,” he says.




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