Bappi Lahiri

Bappi Lahiri was born in Kolkata, India on 27 November 1952. He was the only child of Aparesh Lahiri and Bansuri Lahiri, both were Bengali singers and musicians in classical music and Shyama Sangeet. He was also the nephew of the legendary singer Kishore Kumar. He began to play tabla at the age of 3 and received his music training from his parents and other eminent musicians. He was influenced by American rockstar Elvis Presley and decided to create his own signature style of wearing gold jewellery and velvet clothes. He came to Mumbai when he was 19 and received his first opportunity in a Bengali film, Daadu (1974). He composed music for his first Hindi film, Nanha Shikari (1973) and sang his first Hindi song, Tu Hi Mera Chanda. He rose to fame with his music for the film Zakhmee (1975) and became known as the pioneer of disco beats in India. He composed music for several hit films in the 1980s and 1990s, such as Disco Dancer, Dance Dance, Himmatwala, Sharaabi, Namak Halaal, Adventures of Tarzan, Satyamev Jayate, Shola Aur Shabnam, and many more. He also sang some of his own compositions and collaborated with many singers, such as Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Uthup, and others. He also composed music for Bengali, Telugu, and Kannada films and delivered major box office successes. He was recognised by Guinness World Records for recording more than 180 songs in one year in 1986. He also received many awards and honours, such as Filmfare Awards, National Film Award, IIFA Award, Zee Cine Award, Screen Award, Stardust Award, and Banga Bibhushan. He also ventured into international music and collaborated with artists like Boy George, Samantha Fox, Apache Indian, and MC Hammer. He also composed music for Hollywood films, such as Eyewitness to Murder (1989) and Divine Lovers (1997). He died on 15 February 2022 following a massive heart attack at the age of 69. He is survived by his wife Chitrani Lahiri and his children Bappa Lahiri and Rema Lahiri.