Veteran Bollywood singer-composer Bappi Lahiri is ‘disheartened’ by the news of his supposed ill health that has been circulated by several media outlets in recent days.
Lahiri, who ruled the Bollywood music charts in the 80s and 90s, has rubbished stories about his ailing health and assured his fans all is fine. In a post on Instagram, Lahiri decided to set the record straight. “Disheartening to learn about certain media outlets putting out false reports about me and my health. With the blessings of my fans and wellwishers, I am doing well! Bappida”
His post drew a response from singer Shaan, who also slammed the media for spreading false news. “It’s really sickening .. #falsereporting .. don’t know what they gain from this .. just creating panic and confusion.”
News of Lahiri’s ill health spread following a report in Indian daily Mid-day, which quoted the veteran star’s son, Bappa Lahiri, as saying that his father has yet to fully recover after contracting COVID-19 in April.
“The virus has slowed him down; he gets tired easily, but there is no cause for alarm. He is on the road to recovery,” the composer’s son Bappa told the Indian daily. “He has been advised not to talk as part of the recovery. That’s why onlookers wonder if he has lost his voice. But his spirits remain high. He is planning to record a Durga Puja song with Bengali actor Rituparna Sengupta. He also composed the song, Ganpati Bappa Morya, rendered by Anuradha Juju.”
According to the report, Lahiri is also wheelchair bound currently, which his son attributed to a recent knee replacement surgery.
Lahiri, fondly known as Bappi da to fans and colleagues, is widely regarded as Bollywood’s Disco King, having pioneered the advent of the genre of music in Hindi films of the 80s and the 90s. His biggest hits as a composer include the soundtracks of films like ‘Disco Dancer’, ‘Namak Halaal’, ‘Dance Dance’, ‘Sharaabi’, ‘Saaheb’, ‘Himmatwala’ and ‘Chalte Chalte’. In 2011, he made a comeback as a singer with the blockbuster song ‘Ooh lala la’ in the film ‘The Dirty Picture’. Some of his most popular tracks include ‘Yaar Bina’ and ‘Tamma Tamma’.
Lahiri has composed music for close to 600 films, across different languages in India. He has also landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records for his feat. The song ‘Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja’, originally picturised on Mithun Chakraborty in the 1982 film ‘Disco Dancer’, has been translated in Russian and Chinese and has been a part of the original score of Adam Sandler’s ‘You Don’t Mess with the Zohan’.
