Bappi Lahiri is no more, but his music lives on

Bappi Lahiri, 1952-2022, (Image via Twitter.com/HimantaBiswaSarma)

‘Everybody Dance With Me,’ he said 1978, and the nation still does. Such strange news to wake up to: Bappi Lahiri is no more. It’s like saying shut the discos and go home.

From ‘Nothing is impossible’ from Zakhmee (Vinod Mehra and Tariq singing in a disco with a women’s live band) which has the coolest selection of wild whooping sounds made by man, and Kishore Kumar singing about dance being colour blind in the lyrics, to the gentleness of ‘Aao tumhe chaand pe le jaye’ from the same movie, Bappida could create it all.

They will tell you how Elvis’ jewellery inspired him to succeed and that’s why he wore so much gold, and you’ll perhaps make memes about it, but can you make everyone dance?

College hostels still play ‘Bambai se aaya mera dost’ once they get to know you are from out of town. Heck, when you travel abroad, friends still play the song (even when you’ve all been propah drinking Vouvray and have eaten strange foreign fare) and you’ll end up dancing yourself silly and imitating the ‘wa-wa’ bits loudly in each other's faces.

But his music is so good, his ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ gets sampled and it creates hits for international stars like M.I.A. It’s impossible to be still when the train is at Disco Station and there’s a call to come aboard! You might laugh at the lyrics today, ‘Yeh hai, pyar ki hathkadi!’ but the music is mindblowing. Bappida knew disco like no one else. Who else could make a sound like ‘auva auva’ and dance to it? As the lyrics say, ‘Maano na mere yaar!’

His impeccable sense of rhythm in the voices of Usha Uthup, Asha Bhosle, Vijay Benedict, Parvati Khan and yes even Kishore Kumar and the songs they sang for him are still on ‘dance music’ lists today. And yes, Bappida belted it out himself when no one else could get that madness. I’m not saying Kishore Kumar could not have slayed ‘Yaad aa raha hai, tera pyar’, but Bappida’s voice was unique and we’re grateful for it. If you’ve spent even one Valentine’s day alone or have had your heart broken, then this is the go-to song.

Bappi Lahiri has given music to songs that have been mixed and remixed and remixed again, but can you remix a beat that is inherently incredible? His ‘Kaliyon ka chaman’ is just one such example. And who could imagine his music would even make Tarzan dance? Cannot get enough of Kimi Katkar seducing Hemant Birje’s Tarzan in the jungle, telling him to come dance with her.

From Amitabh Bachchan and Smita Patil in the rain singing ‘Aaj rapat jaayein’ to Govinda singing, ‘Lal dupatte wali tera naam toh bata’, so many memorable Bollywood songs have the Bappi magic. He could even make ‘Twinkle toes’ Jeetendra do the ‘Tohfa! Tohfa!’ The list of songs is endless, as are Bappi Lahiri’s achievements. He leaves behind a distraught nation of fans and a family that is grieving for him in Mumbai. We loved you Bappida, including your love for gold. Shine on, wherever you are going…

Also see: Bappi Lahiri No More | India remembers the disco king