From ‘I am a Disco Dancer’ to ‘Ooh la la’: 10 of the most popular songs by India’s ‘Disco King’ Bappi Lahiri

Indian composer and singer Bappi Lahiri. Photo: PTI

India's ‘Disco King' and renowned composer-singer Bappi Lahiri passed away at 69 in Mumbai Wednesday due to multiple health conditions, including Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). Known for his unique singing style and for adding electronic sounds to his music, ‘Bappi Da' as he is called, is the first to ignite the disco music trend in Bollywood. Over the years, he collaborated with many artists including Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle, late Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Uthup and Vijay Benedict among others.

While he has composed music for films in many languages including Hindi, Bengali and Telugu, the songs for the latter are the most popular. He created a niche for himself in the disco music genre, which earned him a massive reputation in the 70s, 80s, 90s and beyond.

Here are some of his most popular songs:

Bambai Se Aya Mera Dost, Aap Ki Khatir (1977)
In one of the most popular songs sung about the city, ‘Bambai Se Aya Mera Dost' is not only composed by Bappi Lahiri but also sung by him and has been popular ever since it released. Lahiri created it for the film Aap Ki Khatir (1977), directed by Sudhendu Roy and starring Vinod Khanna and Rekha along with Helen and Om Shivpuri. He also sang parts of two other songs in the same film 'Pyara Ek Bangla Ho, Bangle Mein Gaadi Ho' and 'O Shola, O Shola, O Shola Shola Re, O Bhola, O Bhola, O Bhola Bhola Re'.

Hari Om Hari, Pyaara Dushman (1980)
Hari Om Hari is another popular song known for the distinctive vocals of Usha Uthup. Interestingly, it was Bappi Da who composed music for the song and the 1980 film Pyaara Dushman, which starred actors Rakesh Roshan, Amjad Khan and Vidya Sinha among others. The tune of the song is inspired by the popular song ‘One Way Ticket' by the English band Eruption. The film had another popular song composed by the musician called ‘Ek Dhoondho, Milte Hain Hazaaron'

I Am A Disco Dancer, Disco Dancer (1982)
Bappi Lahiri has many popular songs but if there is one song that is known to people across generations, even today, it has to be ‘I Am A Disco Dancer' from the 1977 Mithun Chakraborty-starrer Disco Dancer. All the songs in the film, directed by Babbar Subhash, have been composed by Bappi Lahiri. Written by lyricist Faruk Kaiser, this particular number was sung by Vijay Benedict and went on to become a huge hit. The dance sequence involving Mithun was shot at Nataraj Studio over three days.

Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, Disco Dancer (1982)
‘Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy' was another popular song composed by Bappi Da for Disco Dancer. It was written by Farukh Kaiser and sung by pop singer Parvati Khan. The film's album became a platinum-selling album in India. The film and music also ended up making Mithun a disco icon till today. Famously, he also sang the songs ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hai' and ‘Auva Auva Koi Yahan Nache' for the same movie.

Pag Ghungroo Bandh, Namak Halaal (1982)
Sung by legendary Bollywood singer Kishore Kumar, the music for ‘Pag Ghungroo Bandh' was composed by Bappi Lahiri featuring lyrics by Anjaan, for the Bollywood film Namak Halaal (1982), a multi-starrer with Shashi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, among others. The film also had two other popular songs called ‘Raat Baaki, Baat Baaki', which was sung by Bappi Da along with Asha Bhonsle and ‘Jawani Jaan-E-Man', sung only by the latter, which are popular till today.

Yaar Bina Chain Kaha Re, Saaheb (1985)
A few years later, Lahiri produced another popular number called ‘Yaar Bina Chain Kaha Re', which has even been recreated for the 2020 film ‘Shubh Mangal Zyaada Saavdhan'. The song written by Anjaan is a part of the 1985 Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh-starrer ‘Saaheb' (1985), directed by Anil Ganguly. The music for the song was composed by Bappi Da, who also sung it along with Indian playback singer S Janaki. While the 2020 version is more recent, the original is still popular among fans today.

Dance Dance, Dance Dance (1987)
Bappi Lahiri created music for another Mithun starrer called ‘Dance Dance' (1987), directed by filmmaker Babbar Subhash. The song ‘Dance Dance Dance Dance is Life' in the film became one of the popular hits, sung by Alisha Chinai and Vijay Benedict. The music for the song, written by Anjaan, was inspired by the Italio music genre. Lahiri, joined by Alisha Chinai, also sang the song ‘Super Dancer' for the same film.

Tamma Tamma Loge, Thanedaar (1990)
Tamma Tamma Loge is a popular Bollywood song composed by Bappi Lahiri for the 1990 Jeetendra-starrer ‘Thanedaar' (1990), directed by Raj N Sippy. While he made music for all the songs in the film, this song sung by Bappi Da himself and Anuradha Paudwal became very famous. It goes to the tune of Jumma Chumma De De, which itself was taken from the 1988 single by Guinean vocalist Mory Kante. Both versions of the song became instant hits in India. In fact, it was even a part of the 2017 film ‘Badrinath Ki Dulhania' where it was sung by Tanishk Bagchi and called ‘Tamma Tamma Again'.

Bambai Nagariya, Taxi No 9211 (2006)
In the early 2000s, Bappi Lahiri sang the song ‘Bambai Nagariya' for the 2006 film ‘Taxi No 9211' (2006) starring Nana Patekar and John Abraham in the lead roles. Directed by Milan Luthria, the songs for the film were written by Vishal Dadlani and Dev Kohli and composed by Vishal-Shekhar. For this song, Lahiri was also joined by Nana Patekar and John Abraham.

Ooh La La, The Dirty Picture (2011)
In more recent years, Bappi Lahiri sang the song ‘Ooh La La' with Indian playback singer Shreya Ghoshal for the popular film ‘The Dirty Picture' (2011). It was among the most popular songs in the album, which had lyrics written by Rajat Arora and music composed by duo Vishal-Shekhar. The popularity of the song saw it feature on an episode in the Zooey Deschanel-starrer American sitcom New Girl (2011-2018), called ‘Big Mama P'.