Dhurandhar’s climax background music has a reference to this 1980s TV show, Badshah calls Aditya Dhar a ‘geeky genius’ for using it

Ranveer Singh's Dhurandhar borrows background music from the "Knight Rider Theme".

Aditya Dhar’s period spy thriller Dhurandhar has been making history at the box office, and amid the multiple viewings, fans can’t help but break down each scene from the film, as they look for clues and Easter eggs. The music of the film has been another talking point. Aside from the songs, even the background music has started to develop a fan following.

The extremely groovy and slightly intriguing background score used at the end of Dhurandhar depicts how Ranveer Singh’s character was chosen to go to Pakistan. It hints at his backstoryand also shows glimpses of what’s to come in the sequel, with the glimpses featuring Ranveer in a new look with short hair and a clean shaven face.

Some fans speculated that the background score in this sequence sounded similar to American singer Doja Cat’s popular song “AAAHH MEN!” which released earlier this year. It’s the third track from her fifth studio album, Vie. It’s Doja Cat’s tribute to the pop music of the 1980s. Fans believed that Shashwat Sachdev, who has composed the music and background score of Dhurandhar, has borrowed from Doja Cat, till it was pointed out to them that the inspiration actually dates back decades.

Singer and rapper Badshah took to his X handle to bring everyone’s attention to the actual inspiration behind the climactic background score of Dhurandhar. He tweeted, “Why is no one talking about the knight rider theme in the end credits scene of dhurandhar?” This confused a few fans who confused it with Vishal-Shekhar’s “Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo,” the official theme track of Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League team owned by Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla, and her husband Jai Mehta.

But other X users were quick to correct that misconception and underline that the music is actually the opening theme of Glen A Larson’s 1980s action crime TV show Knight Rider. The “Knight Rider Theme” was composed by Larson and Stu Phillips. Larson also borrowed some pieces of that theme from a part of Sylvia, French composer Leo Delibes’ classical ballet from 1876. Knight Rider ran for 90 episodes across four seasons from 1982 to 1986. While it received negative reviews initially, it has gained a cult status over the years.

“No doubt @AdityaDharFilms is a geeky genius at so many levels,” Badshah also tweeted in the same thread. Using the Knight Rider theme for that climactic buildup of Dhurandhar is a rather nerdy touch on part of Dhar, given what the TV show is about. Police detective Lieutenant Michael Arthur Long escapes a near-fatal gunshot to the face, and undergoes plastic surgery to claim the new identity of Michael Knight (played by David Hasselhoff). He then operates like the primary field agent in the government’s public justice organization, FLAG (Foundation for Law and Government).

For the uninitiated, even in Dhurandhar, R Madhavan’s Intelligence Bureau chief Ajay Sanyal ropes in Ranveer Singh’s character as a spy to infiltrate the Pakistani terror network under a new identity of Hamza Ali Mazari. The covert mission is called Dhurandhar. While the first part revolved around how he successfully rises ranks in the terror hierarchy of Pakistan, the sequel will show how he exacts revenge from the terror forces there. Dhurandhar Part 2 is slated to release in cinemas on March 19, 2026.