'Dhurandhar 2' Makes 'Rasputin' Viral Again: Here's The Folk Song That Started It All

Dhurandhar 2 revives Rasputin’s legacy, tracing its melody back to the Turkish folk song Katibim and its journey across cultures into global pop music.

Dhurandhar 2 Revives Rasputin: The 200-Year-Old Turkish Song Behind The Disco Hit

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Key points generated by AI, verified by newsroom

• Ottoman folk tune 'Katibim' originated in 18th-19th century Istanbul.
• Melody spread across Balkans, Middle East, evolving through cultures.
• Early 20th century recordings introduced tune to international circuits.
• Boney M's 'Rasputin' uses tune, sparking global recognition.

Few listeners tapping along to Boney M's Rasputin realise they are hearing a melody with roots far older than the disco era. Long before it became a pop culture staple, this tune lived a very different life,one shaped by oral traditions, cultural exchange, and centuries of reinterpretation. Known as Katibim, its journey reflects how music can travel, transform, and quietly connect worlds that seem far apart.

Origins In Ottoman Istanbul

Katibim, also called Uskudar'a Gider Iken 'While Going to Uskudar', belongs to the tradition of turku,urban folk songs rooted in everyday life.

At its heart, the song tells a simple, almost conversational story. A woman travels through Istanbul's Uskudar district with her clerk, caught in the rain, noticing small details with warmth and wit. It's a snapshot of ordinary life, yet one that resonates across time.

Beneath its simplicity lies a deeper cultural richness. Ethnomusicologists trace the tune back to the 18th or 19th century, when Istanbul stood as a vibrant crossroads of cultures. Armenian, Turkish, Sephardic Jewish, and Persian musical traditions all blended within the city,and Katibim moved fluidly among them.

A Melody That Crossed Borders

What truly sets Katibim apart is not just where it began, but how far it travelled.

From Istanbul, the melody spread across the Balkans and the Middle East, evolving along the way. It appeared in Greek, Albanian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Arabic, Bangladeshi, and Indian musical traditions,each culture reshaping it with new lyrics, rhythms, and interpretations.

In many regions, the tune gradually lost its singular identity as a 'Turkish song' and became something more universal: a shared piece of folk heritage.

Its global journey accelerated in the early 20th century. A recording from 1902 documented the melody unusually early for a folk tune. By 1924, klezmer clarinetist Naftule Brandwein had recorded an instrumental version in the United States, marking its entry into international music circuits.

Even in Indian cinema, echoes of Katibim can be heard. When Rasputin inspired the Bollywood track I'll Do the Talking Tonight from Agent Vinod, the melody's unmistakable influence resurfaced once again.

From Folk Tune To Global Stage

By the mid-20th century, Katibim had transitioned from oral tradition to recorded music. A 1949 rendition by Turkish singer Safiye Ayla helped formalize one of its most recognized arrangements. Around the same time, the song appeared in international compilations, including UNESCO anthologies, further cementing its global reach. Then came a pivotal reinvention.

In 1953, Eartha Kitt released Uska Dara, transforming the Turkish melody into a jazz-pop piece infused with English lyrics and Turkish phrases. The song introduced Western audiences to the tune decades before disco would dominate the charts.

At that point, Katibim was no longer confined to a region,it had become a melody the world could recognise.

The Disco Twist: Enter Rasputin

Fast forward to 1978. Disco is at its peak, and Boney M releases Rasputin, a high-energy track narrating the life of Russian mystic Grigori Rasputin.

Listen closely, and the connection becomes difficult to ignore. The verses of Rasputin closely mirror the melodic structure of Katibim. While the arrangement introduces a distinctly “Russian” flair,complete with dramatic storytelling and stylized instrumentation,the underlying tune feels strikingly familiar.

Though the producers denied direct borrowing, the resemblance has sparked ongoing debate. For many listeners and scholars, the link seems more than coincidental.

A Modern Revival In Pop Culture

The legacy of Rasputin,and by extension, Katibim,continues to resurface in contemporary storytelling.

In Dhurandhar 2, the iconic track finds renewed relevance through a viral scene. Actor R. Madhavan's character recounts Rasputin's legendary survival, poison, gunshots, and drowning, as a metaphor for the dramatic downfall of Lt General Shamshad Hassan amid betrayal and exposure.