Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna: Bappi Lahiri dies at 69

Bappi Lahiri’s breathless foottappers and Indeevar’s nursery-rhyme lyrics (’Char baar marenge ek baar ginenge’, Mawaali) in Southern productions defined popular film music in the 80’s. They were integral to mind-numbing entertainers whose plots could match Donald Trump’s statements for incredulousness. Jeetendra’s Himmatwala, Mawaali, Maq sad and Tohfa were all propelled by these tunes.“He was a king in Madras,” director B Subhash told this reporter some years ago.
In the 1980s, Bappi da, as many called him fondly, provided the score for an eyepopping 230 films. In 1985, he gave music to 33 movies: 30 Hindi, 2 Bengali, 1 Tamil; which means a film released every 12 days! The composer lorded over the charts even when some of the songs were copies of foreign hits and desi classics. There was an alternative side to him as well. In Basu Chatterjee’s Apne Paraye, he surprised critics with his folksy tunes.
‘Shyam rang rangaa re’, where he employed the Bengal percussion instrument khol, has the meditative feel of a Chaitanya kirtan. ‘Gao mere mann’ carries the smell of ponds, banana leaves and 19th century Bengal. Not many would associate him with songs such as ‘Saiyan bina ghar soona’ (Aangan Ki Kali), ‘Chaar din ki zindagi hai’ (Ek Baar Kaho) or ‘Kisi nazar ko tera’ (Aetbaar).
Many of them were sung by Yesudas and Bhupendra. Born in north Bengal’s Jalpaiguri town to musician parents, Alokesh (his original name) trained under guru Samt a Prasad and was hailed as a tabla prodigy at just six. Nanha Shikari (1973) was his debut Hindi film. But the composer made a distinct impression with Chalte Chalte (1976), among his finest scores.
Amit Khanna, who wrote the lyrics, recounts how Bappi got the film. “The film director Bhisham Kohli, also Dev Anand’s nephew, was looking for a music director. He was unable to g et RD and L-P. Bappi had earlier come to Navketan looking for work. And I was impressed by some of the tunes I heard. I told Bhisham, why don’t you try him? During the music session, Bappi played the ‘Chalte Chalte’ tune. I wrote the opening lines. And this led to the song,” recalled Khanna.
Slowly, he worked his way up with hummable melodies in low budget action films such as Zakhmee, Ravikant Nagaich’s Surakksha and Wardat and the Ramsay brothers’ horror yarns (Saboot). Disco Dancer elevated his career. But when Prakash Mehra, then Bollywood’s bi ggest director along with Manmohan Desai, signed him for ‘Namak Halal’, Bappi entered the super league.
The music in Namak Halaal and Sharaabi (both Big B films) were wor th the weight of the gold chains he fondly wore. Namak Halaal’s ‘Pagh ghungroo baandh’ was nearly 12 minutes long but the tune was riveting. ‘Raat baaki’, which he sang with Asha, is a standout. Sharaabi earned him his lone Filmfare award in 1985. He tasted success in the 1990s too: K C Bokadia’s Aaj Ka Arjun and David Dhawan’s Aankhen, to name just two. ‘Gori hai kalaiyan’ (Aaj Ka Arjun) topped the Binaca Geetmala in 1990. In recent years, Bappi sang in Baaghi 3 and Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan. Last April, he had contracted Covid but recovered well. Now, the amiable and ever-smiling composer is no more. But the best of his 80s tracks remain groovy as ever. And even today, there’s no better farewell song than ‘Chalte Chalte’.
Bappi Superhits
Chalte chalte mere yeh geet yaad rakhna (Chalte Chalte) | Pag ghunghroo bandh Meera nachi thi (Namak Halal) | Tarzan my Tarzan (Tarzan) | Jimmy Jimmy (Disco Dancer) | Imtehan ho gayee intezar ki (Sharabi) | Disco station disco (Hathkadi) | Hari Om Hari (Pyara Dushman) | Ramba ho ho ho (Armaan) | Naino mein sapna (Tohfa)
In his own voice Bambai se aaya mera dost (Aap Ki Khatir) Raat baki baat baki (Namak Halal) (with Asha Bhosle) Jana kahan hai (Chalte Chalte) (with Sulakshana Pandit) Yaari hai phoolon se meri yaari hai (Shiksha) Tu mujhe jaan se bhi pyara hai (Wardat) (with Usha Uthup)
Hidden Gems
Yeh naina yeh kajal (Dil Se Mile Dil)
Shyam rang rangaa re (Apne Paraye)
Char din ki zindagi hai (Ek Baar Kaho)
Saiyan bina ghar soona (Aangan Ki Kali)
Kisi nazar ko tera (Aetbaar)
Shine On
He composed 3 disco albums with Runa Laila (Superuna), Padmini Kolhapure (Music Lovers) & Mandakini (Dancing City) Notable Bengali film scores: Ogo Bodhu Sundari, Guru Dakshina. Also composed music for Telugu, Kannada, Tamil and Gujarati films In a career spanning nearly 5 decades, he gave music in about 500 films He also acted in Kishore Kumar’s film, Badhti Ka Naam Dhadi (1974)
TRIBUTES
President Ram Nath Kovind:
Shri Bappi Lahiri was a matchless singercomposer. His songs found popularity not only in India but abroad. . . His memorable songs will continue to delight listeners for long time. Condolences to his family and fans
PM Narendra Modi:
Shri Bappi Lahiri Ji’s music was all encompassing, beautifully expressing diverse emotions. People across generations could relate to his works. His lively nature will be missed by everyone. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers. Om Shanti
Usha Uthup, singer:
BappiDa used to call our pair an ‘untod jodi’. No gig of mine is complete without his songs