He has had been a butt of many a joke because of his flashy gold jewellery and for being ‘inspired’ by tunes from English pop tunes, but still you just can’t ignore Bappi Lahri. The man with a sweet voice and a fantastic music sense lofted into the public imagination once again recently as he was one of the three celebrity judges of the hugely popular ‘L’il Champs’ reality television show. What’s heartening to note is that Bappi Da is getting back to the big league in a different avatar. After having sung the tapori number ‘Mumbai Nagaria’ in ‘Taxi Number 9 2 11’ for composer duo Vishal-Shekhar, the original rockstar is gonna be heard in the soundtrack of Mani Rathnam’s ‘Guru’ where he has sang an A R Rahman beauty.

Bappi Lahri is best remembered for his Kishore Kumar number ‘Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet Yaad Rakhna….Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna…’ It is one of Kishore’s best. ‘Disco Dancer’, ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hai Tera Pyaar’, ‘Namak Halal, ‘Sharaabi’…The list of hits from Bappi Lahri factory is a long one. ‘Kaliyon Ka Chaman Ye Kehta Hai….’…Heard this one…Of course you have…Meghna Naidu sprang into prominence with the video of this remix…But very few know that the original composer of this song is Bappi Da….He also won a court case against a US rap band which had used the loop of the original song in one of their experimental numbers.

It’s good to find Bappi Lahri back in action. Both as a composer as well as a singer. It was heartening to note how compassionately he handled the kids while giving them tips. ‘L’il Champs’ has surely helped him rise in the public eye both as a fine music man as well as a good human being. Looking forward to hearing more from Bappi Lahri in the future…