Filmmaker
Milan
Luthria
says
he
feels
fortunate
to
have
collaborated
with
Bappi
Lahiri
for
two
chartbuster
tracks
"Bombai
Nagariya" and
"Ooh
La
La"
from
his
films
and
says
the
veteran,
who
passed
away
Tuesday
night,
will
live
through
his
music.
The
69-year-old
composer,
who
popularised
disco
music
in
Indian
cinema
in
the
70s
and
80s
and
also
some
soulful
crooning,
died
following
multiple
health
issues
on
Tuesday
night
at
the
CritiCare
Hospital
in
Juhu.
Lahiri
was
the
brains
behind
the
inventive
'80s
pop
and
disco
sound
for
Bollywood,
with
hit
film
albums
like
Mithun
Chakraborty-starrer
Disco
Dancer,
Amitabh
Bachchan's
Namak
Halaal
and
Sharaabi
and
Sridevi-Jeetendra-starrer
Himmatwala,
which
shaped
the
Hindi
pop
culture
music.
His
Bollywood
work
faded
in
the
'90s
--
a
comparatively
lacklustre
decade
for
the
veteran
--
but
he
bounced
back
in
2006
as
a
singer
with
Luthria's
"Bombai
Nagariya" track
from
the
director's
2006
comedy
thriller
"Taxi
No.
9211".
The
filmmaker
said
for
the
Vishal-Shekhar
composed
track,
which
was
an
ode
to
the
beautiful,
cruel
irony
of
Mumbai,
the
team
was
looking
for
a
"different
sounding
voice",
unlike
anything
dominating
the
music
scene
back
in
the
day.
"We
were
brainstorming
and
came
up
with
his
name.
I
called
him
and
he
agreed
to
come
to
the
studio
of
Vishal-Shekhar
right
away.
He
was
excited,
as
he
had
not
sung
for
a
while.
I
remember
it
was
raining
heavily
that
day,
there
was
almost
a
foot
of
water
outside
their
recording
studio.
"He
came
in,
heard
it
and
said,
'Can
I
do
it
the
way
I
want
to?
I
just
want
to
be
a
little
free
in
the
way
I
sing'.
We
agreed
and
in
an
hour
and
a
half,
we
were
done!
It
was
amazing
--
his
control
over
his
voice,
range,
the
variations
he
gave
us.
He
was
so
happy,
excited,
almost
like
it
was
his
first
song,"
Luthria
told
PTI
in
an
interview.
This
was
the
first
time
Lahiri
sang
for
a
composer,
outside
of
his
own
songs
that
he
would
score
and
sing.
The
track
opened
the
film,
which
featured
Nana
Patekar
and
John
Abraham.
"Bombai
Nagariya"
was
a
runaway
hit,
catapulting
Lahiri
back
onto
the
charts
after
his
last
known
Hindi
album
"Justice
Chowdhary"
in
2000.
Luthria
recalled
how
the
video
of
the
song
featured
a
photo
of
Lahiri,
which
they
had
found
on
the
side
of
a
bus
in
the
city.
The
filmmaker
also
used
the
composer's
hit
track
"Chahiye
Thoda
Pyaar"
from
1979's
Lahu
Ke
Do
Rang
for
a
sequence
in
the
film,
featuring
Abraham
with
Priyanka
Chopra
in
a
special
appearance.
"'Bombai
Nagariya' track
suddenly
shot
him
back
to
fame.
He
came
back
to
pop
culture
all
of
a
sudden.
In
the
end
of
the
film,
I
also
used
his
song
'Chahiye
Thoda
Pyaar',
which
worked
very
well.
He
called
me
(saying)
he
was
thrilled,
grateful
that
he
was
back
in
the
limelight.
Then
he
started
doing
a
lot
of
these
talent
shows,"
he
added.
Lahiri
appeared
as
a
judge
on
the
popular
TV
show
"Sa
Re
Ga
Ma
Pa
L'il
Champs" in
2006
and
went
on
to
feature
on
another
edition
of
the
series.
In
2011,
Luthria
reached
out
to
the
veteran
again
for
the
"Ooh
La
La"
track
from
The
Dirty
Picture,
also
composed
by
Vishal-Shekhar.
The
peppy
song,
featuring
Vidya
Balan
as
actor
Silk
Smitha
and
veteran
actor
Naseeruddin
Shah,
became
an
instant
chartbuster.
"We
wanted
a
voice
that
gave
us
a
throwback
to
the
'80s,
so
he
had
to
be
there.
He
just
liked
to
be
allowed
a
little
bit
of
freedom,
because
he
had
so
much
experience,
he
could
turn
the
notes
a
little
bit
around."
The
filmmaker
said
Lahiri
asked
him
if
he
could
"tweak"
the
lines
that
appear
in
the
middle
of
the
song,
that
go
"Gira
ke
apna
pallu
baar
baar".
"We
said,
'Sure,
no
problem'.
He
was
so
happy
to
be
back
in
the
recording
studio.
He
was
chatty
and
affectionate.
After
this
song,
he
called
me
again
and
said
I
was
his
lucky
charm
that
he
had
started
doing
concerts
all
over
the
world!"
Luthria
said
it
was
Lahiri's
personality
--
his
trademark
gold
chains
that
he
wore
for
luck
and
his
sunglasses
--
gave
him
the
larger-than-life
statuture
of
a
pop
icon.
The
songs,
a
wonderful
mix
of
intimate
but
accessible
melodies,
added
to
the
charm,
he
added.
"More
than
anything
else,
it
was
his
personality
which
was
like
a
pop
icon.
He
was
one
of
the
finest
musical
talents
of
our
country.
He
was
the
only
composer
who
took
on
the
Big
Threes
in
the
'70s
and
'80s
--
Laxmikant-Pyarelal,
RD
Burman,
and
Kalyanji-Anandji.
In
the
1990s,
there
was
Anu
Malik,
but
Bappi
da
held
his
own.
"He
had
unique,
personalised
melodies
like
'Raat
Baaki',
which
were
also
extremely
commercial.
I
feel
blessed
and
fortunate
to
have
worked
with
him.
He
will
live
through
his
music,"
he
added.