Dwarka residents: Yaad aa raha hai Bappi Da !

Bappi Lahiri was an accomplished composer whose main work was done largely in the 70s and 80s. He introduced the disco craze to India. His funky, foot-stomping music had Indians fall in love with disco and had an entire country dancing to his tunes.

His music from the movie Disco Dancer introduced a new form of freeform dancing in Bollywood. It also turned actors like Mithun Chakraborty into icons, whose groovy moves to the bouncing synths, immortalised him as a dancing legend.

Lahiri composed songs for several other hit Bollywood flicks such as Himmatwala, Sharaabi, Adventures of Tarzan, Dance Dance, Satyamev Jayate, Shola Aur Shabnam, among others.

When I was a kid, I remember him as always seen sporting gleaming gold chains and bracelets. True he was a style icon, who not many followed but all admired. His flashy velvet jackets and sequinned robes were also a trademark style.

While Bappi Da became a household name with his disco-style songs and techno beats, his work struck an emotional chord too with Indian moviegoers. Let us talk to some of the residents of Dwarka and know from them about their favourite Bappi Lahiri songs and memories attached to them.

Madhusudan, a resident of Dwarka, says, “I am listening to the music of every genre since 1974. It's not only songs he was very innovative with. He came at a time when the use of a synthesizer was getting popular all over the world. He was the first to introduce disco beats with 'yaari hai phoolon se meri yaari hai' and 'Mausam hai gaane ka'. I liked his great album sheesha ka Ghar. When he explored the talent of Salma Agha she sang two songs in semi-classical ghazal style. Chalte Chalte his debut album still stands tall with another album Pyara Dushman and toote khilone. No doubt he gave a lot of new wave and disco music but also gave good music. His song 'Mumbai se aya mera' dost is a phenomenon. No one could again make such a nice song.”

Abhishek Jha, a resident of Dwarka sector-7, says, “After Lata Ji, it's a big loss again that Bappi Da too is no more. Bappi Lahiri was one of those singers and composers who popularized Disco music in synthesized form among youth in India. He gave gems to the Indian disco. His songs like Yaad aa raha hai; De de pyar de; Tamma Tamma, and whatnot.  It is a great loss for India to lose another gem. May his soul rest in peace.”

Adarsh Mishra, the singer of the Musical Musafir band, says, “I have deep respect for his creativity and he revolutionised the music industry with his music. My favourite song of his is Inteha Ho Gayi Intezaar Ki, Yaar Bina Chain Kahan Rey, Yaad Aa Raha Hai.  Also, Inteha is my go-to song in my live shows as well.”

Baisakhi Dalapati, a resident of dwarka, says, “I loved many of his songs like pyar bina chain kahan re, yaad aa raha hai and Tamma tamma etc. I found him very versatile in both music composition as well as singing.”

Sumit Chatterjee, a resident of Dwarka, says, “We all grew up to his epic songs. He was a supremely gifted musician. Many don't know that he could play the tabla at the age of 5 years. His superhits from Disco Dancer, Sharaabi, Namak Halal, Suraksha, Satyamev Jayate & many others kept music lovers swinging to his tunes. My favourite song is Chalte Chalte mere yeh geet yaad rakhna, kabhi alvida na kahna. Bappi Da you were a Rockstar. RIP.”

Anjana Tripathi, a resident of Dwarka, says, “India has again lost one of her precious gems. Bappi Lahiri is and will always be the most iconic musical personality of Indian cinema. His music was legendary. His versatility as a composer was unmatched. When I was in college I remember the only song which stuck in my mind for months was “Yaar Bina Chain Kahan re.”

Prasenjit Mukherjee, a resident of Dwarka, says, "When I remember Baapi Da I wonder whether he was a melody composer or composer based on rhythm. Due to his love of rhythm from childhood days, we saw him create rhythm-based composition in south movies himaatwala and tohfa. He brought disco and rock-based songs to Bollywood which were again rhythm-based. A Bengali at heart his composition brought in the best of melody flavours in movies like Sharabi and Chalte Chalte. He was a great human being who helped many struggling artists in Mumbai."