The Hindu : New Delhi News : King of disco in a new role

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 24, 2007
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

King of disco in a new role

Photo: R.V. Moorthy

Cheers: Noted music director Bappi Lahiri in New Delhi for the promotion of new television show ‘K for Kishore’.

Initiating a new wave of music, Bappi Lahiri is the bringer of disco in Indian cinema. On a visit to the Capital on the launch of a TV programme, he shared with Madhur Tankha his fond memories of the versatile Kishore Kumar

The first music director to bring disco music to Bollywood, noted musician Bappi Lahiri unlike most of his contemporaries is not averse to the idea of remixing old Hindi songs for the benefit for Generation X.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of a television show here in the Capital this past week, Bappi said his jugalbandi with the legendary Kishore Kumar was unique as the gifted singer had the panache to change his gayaki (singing style) to suit the character on the screen.

“When I sang ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’, Kishore Kumar enjoyed it so much that tears rolled down his cheeks. A good judge of music, he told me the song would be a hit. We were good friends and won two film awards. After he won the Filmfare award for ‘Sharaabi’, he sang ‘Manzil Aur Bhi Hai’ at the function with a 100 piece orchestra. When he sang ‘De De Pyar De’ people were dancing in the aisles,” says Bappi.

“Mamu”, as Bappi fondly called him, was almost like a relative to him. “We had close family ties and he egged me on to become a music director. Without his support and guidance, I wouldn’t have been where I am today. Kishore mamu was a legend as far as versatility, comedy and performance were concerned. He was blessed with a good voice and acknowledged the fact that he was never trained as a classical singer. He never rehearsed for any song. I just had to tell him that he was singing for Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Khanna or Dharmendra, and he would change his style to suit the character.”

The popular hits of ‘Namak Halal’ in which Bappi and Kishore Kumar worked together won accolades. “Kishore mamu’s last song for the film ‘Waqt Ki Awaz’ was recorded at Mehboob Studio. The next day he passed away.”

A great fan of Elvis Presley, Bappi tried to emulate him as a child. “I used to tell myself that if I ever became a big musician, I would also wear a chain like Elvis. However, now I wear a number of chains for religious and superstitious reasons.”

Excited about the fact that his son now is following in his footsteps, Bappi says he is looking forward to the release of the film ‘Jimmy’ in which Bappa has composed a song ‘Marhaba’. “The song has been picturised on Memo who dances just like his father Mithun Chakraborty with whom I have given a number of hit songs.”

In fact, Bappi’s song ‘Disco Dancer’ made Mithun a rage among Hindi film lovers and song went on to become one of the biggest chartbusters.

Expressing unhappiness over the fact that Amit Kumar, son of Kishore Kumar, has not been able to become a popular playback singer, Bappi says: “You should not only be a good singer but also have taqdeer (luck). Amit is an extremely good singer and I have done recordings with him. Besides having a God-gifted voice, a budding singer should have stage presence. The new generation of singers are going in for re-mixes but I am not against it. When you go to a discotheque you listen to the songs of 1970s and 1980s in a re-mix form and the younger generation understands that these songs are from old Hindi films.”

Bappi is now busy composing music for Ramesh Sippy’s ‘Chandni Chowk to China’ and ‘Bhootnath’ that has Amitabh Bachchan.

On the television front, Bappi is one of the judges for “K for Kishore” on Sony Entertainment Television. “It is a unique reality show in which each contestant will be judged how close his voice is to Kishore Kumar. All the contestants are madly in awe of the legendary singer. They know everything about his life and, of course, his music.”

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi