Bappi Lahiri swings to tunes of Om Shanti Om

By: Upala KBR
Monday, November 26, 2007

Manoj Kumar may be upset with Farah Khan"s Om Shanti Om (OSO) but Bappi Lahiri is thrilled. His one line song 'Ok Ok' in the film has made him very popular. He says he has got great response from his fans, especially children.

Farah says, "Bappida called me to express his joy about the response. He added that he would like to compose and record a separate song on it."

Unexpected
Bappi says, "I never believed in my wildest dreams that Om Shanti Om would get such a response! Farah asked me to say a dialogue by singing it. I thought it was small but the 'Ok Ok' dialogue became an instant hit.

Recently, I was in Benares for a show and the audience did not let me leave the stage till I sang 'Ok ok'. OSO is the biggest thing to have happened to me as an actor."

Bappi says he owes the success to Farah and Shah Rukh Khan. "I was the only singer-composer amongst 31 stars present. My year began with a hit film Mani Ratnam's Guru where I sang Jod jod jodiya for Abhishek and ended with the biggest hit of the year.

Earlier, I had acted in Kalaakar with Sridevi and Bhagti Ka Naam Gaadi but I never got such popularity. Farah's job as a director is commendable. OSO reminds me of the films Prakash Mehra, Manmohan Desai and Pramod Chakroborty made in the '70s."

Current jobs
Currently, Bappi is composing music for Nikhil Advani's Made In China, Satish Kaushik's Tere Sang, and B Subhash's Jhoom. He is also the mahaguru in Bathroom Singer.

He also talks about his son's work and says, "History repeated itself when my son Bappa composed an item number, Marhaba, for Mithun's son Mimoh in Jimmy. In the same way, I did Disco Dancer for Mithun. Mimoh is a fantastic dancer and Bappa has done a great job."

Climbed on bucket
Recently Bappida, as he is fondly called found himself stuck in an elevator. He reveals, "It was a traumatic experience though fortunately I didn't get hurt. I was recording at the Empire studios when the lift stopped for an hour on the third floor. My bodyguard was with me and we managed to get out through a space in the wall by climbing on buckets.