Hyderabad (Telangana): Born to a family of classical singers in West Bengal, Bappi Lahiri was trained in every aspect of music. He started playing tabla when he was barely three and showed a great degree of professionalism at an early stage. Armed with self-reliance he went on to compose his first song at 11 and before he could reach his 20s, the young Bappi landed in showbiz capital Mumbai to become a music director. Within a decade he burst onto the scene introducing Hindi films with a brand new sound – DISCO.
After RD Burman's departure with his last melodious gift to the Hindi film industry, 1942: A Love Story, the trend of chasing instant success over the melody had started setting in. Bappi was seen as the biggest distraction that happened in the film music scene. He used to churn out numbers by the hour and that was his claim to fame with a huge South Indian clientele who were always in a hurry to shoot the songs and Lahiri suited their style.
A small experiment he made for the action-drama Suraksha brought a wave of a musical revolution in the Hindi film industry. When his composition Mausam Hai Gaane Ka came out, it set the ball rolling for disco culture in Hindi films. The overnight success of the film and its soundtrack cemented Mithun Chakraborty’s status as a star for the masses.
Born as Alokesh Lahiri, Bappi was one of the most sought-after music composers of the 80s. In the 80s and 90s, his popularity was at its peak and during the phase, he earned the moniker Disco King. He spun one chartbuster after another in films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal, Dance Dance, Commando among others.
Bappi continued to spell his charm with hits like Hari Om Hari, Rambha Ho, Yaar Bina, De De Pyaar De and Jawani Jan-E-Man. Not only he bring the disco beat to Indian songs but also masterfully infused international folks into his music. What inspired Bappi to bring in a revolution in his disco tunes? Well, there's an interesting story behind it!
In 1979, Lahiri was on a tour to the United States with his Kishore mama (Kishore Kumar) and there his life drastically changed during a visit to a nightclub in Chicago. "The disc jockey at the club said he’d play disco and he played Saturday Night Fever. I heard that thumping beat, and, right then, I decided that I was going to bring that to India,” Lahiri once said recounting the life-changing event. However, he didn’t straightaway deploy the newfound sound. He patiently waited for the right opportunity to come his way.
Years later, filmmaker Ravikant Nagaich called Bappi and briefed him about this new guy on the block who is a combination of John Travolta meets Bruce Lee. Bappi was asked to create beats for him for this film which was to be directed by Babbar Subhash. This ebullient and breezy guy is Mithun and film is Disco Dancer (1982)! The movie put both Mithun and Bappi on an invincible position.
Bappi believed in keeping his music in tune with the changing times. However, the trend of disco went out of style when Nadeem-Shravan, Anand-Milind and Jatin-Lalit brought back the trend of melodies in films. Bappi welcomed the shift in the audience's taste saying, "Trends come and go, but good music always stays. The best of EDM creations will also be here — just like we hum old songs with as much energy and love today."
The flamboyant composer is not only a trendsetting musician but a fashion icon as well for his trademark style of dressing. Lahiri, an ardent fan of Elvis Presley since childhood was an iconic fashion figure in Hindi music industry courtesy of his inoffensive narcissism.
Music composers may not survive the test of time but some of their best creations do and that is why filmmakers still resort to Bappi's then chartbusters to jazz up their film music album as Baaghi 3 makers did with Bhankas in 2020 which was his
Lahiri passed away in Mumbai late on Tuesday night. He was 69 and breathed his last in the Criticare Hospital where he was admitted for certain post-Covid issues. The singer-composer is survived by his wife Chitrani Lahiri, his daughter and singer Rema Lahiri Bansal and son Bappa Lahiri.
