Disco stole thunder from Bappi’s soulful songs

He loved bling, made groovy songs, and cracked genuinely funny jokes, writes Rashmi Vasudeva

Raat baaki from Namak Halaal (1982) was one of his biggest hits, and drew on the disco trend raging in the ‘80s.

The last time I saw Bappi da, he was sitting on a throne amidst a tacky jungle, wispy dyed hair, lurid shrug, bling excess and sunglasses all intact. His voice though had become thinner, raspier; and his body strangely shrunk within itself. But he was chuckling — at his own joke.

Bappi Lahiri’s last television appearance was in Bigg Boss 15 in late 2021. Show host and PJ-lover Salman Khan told the audience that not many know Bappi Lahiri’s real name was Alokesh. Bappi da piped up: “My name is Alokesh, my son is Arunesh. Iske baad jo bhi hoga, woh suitcase!”

It is this same sense of guileless mirth that seeped through many of his compositions and made him a superstar among musicians. He wore his stardom heavily — so weighty was his external appearance that it often took attention away from the fact that his was a genuine talent.

Curiously enough, he does not often make the list of Bollywood music greats but he was, though he did create mediocre music in many middling films. But all his best work had melody at their very heart — even the snazzy disco numbers which brought him such fame and adulation.

Consider the most famous of them all — the career-making ‘I am a Disco Dancer’ from the 1982 blockbuster ‘Disco Dancer’. Or even the other groovy number from the same movie, ‘Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja’ sung by the inimitable Parvati Khan. Both had such addictive beats that their reverberations were heard as far as Mongolia and the former Soviet Union, where the movie’s box office revenue surpassed the earlier favourite ‘Awaara’.

Aamir Khan, after his Chinese travels, had exclaimed in happy surprise that ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ had made Mithun Chakraborty a household name in the country. Scratch the synthesiser in these numbers and you realise they are earworms not so much because of their tempo but for their ‘songfulness’.

When Bappi was given the opportunity to bring this lyricism to the fore, he created truly lilting numbers — be it the impossibly zesty ‘Aaj rapat jaaye’ or the subtly sensuous ‘Raat Baaki’.

Like some musicians are wont to do, he insisted on singing many of his hit numbers himself. His voice, with its signature rasp and nasal twang, was not something one took to instantly. When did that ever deter him!

In fact, it can be argued that his extraordinary success was partly due to his sheer belief in himself — he never flinched, whether it was experimenting with unusual chord structures or presenting himself on stage in a foreign land, weighed down by his girth and attire but singing ‘Bambai se aaya mera dost’ in wavering sur and beautiful abandon. Eventually, his voice became a part of his aura as much as his chains and bracelets, toothy grin and Bengali-infused Hindi.

On Google, if you type in ‘Bappi…” one of the first suggestions that pops up is ‘Why Bappi Lahiri wears so much gold’. Well, the man himself had answered this question in an interview a few years ago. Apparently, he was inspired by Elvis’ love for glitz and had thought to himself that when he became famous, he would bling up too. The real treasure though are the many musical gems he left us with, chalte chalte.

Five less-known gems

• Door Door Tum Rahe from ‘Chalte Chalte’ (1976): Bappi got Lata to sing a waltz of seduction, heavily inspired by American pop singer B J Thomas’ hit number ‘Raindrops keep falling on my head’.
• Zid Na Karo from ‘Lahu Ke Do Rang’ (1997): Yesudas’ dulcet voice ripples through this semi-classical number based on Raga Yaman. An all-time favourite unusual from Bappi.
• Dheere Dheere Subah Huyi from ‘Haisiyat’ (1984): Again sung by the unmatched Yesudas, this is Bappi acing a Bollywood number based on Raga Bhairav, the king of the dawn.
• Nothing Is Impossible from ‘Zakhmee’ (1975): If you want to get your dose of an entire decade in five minutes, listen (and watch) this outlandish Hinglish song sung by Rafi and Kishore with Bappi crooning himself occasionally. A total riot this one!
• Yeh Naina, Yeh Kajal from ‘Dil Se Mile Dil’ (1978): Sung by Kishore Kumar, this is a beautiful acoustic number with simple arrangements, very unlike the disco version of Bappi. It is the song’s inherent ease that makes it such a soothing listen.