108 VOGUEINDIAJUNE 2019 http://www.vogue.in
‘Tunemaarientriyaan’fromGunday
(2014) or ‘Tamma tamma’ from
BadrinathKiDulhania(2017).And
theseareonlymyrecentsongs—I’ve
done 640 films!AC:So,afteralltheseyears,what
doyouthinkis thekeytocreat-
inghitmusicforHindicinema?
BL:Itdependsonwhois listeningto
it. I’ve worked with Prakash Mehra
and David Dhawan—the music de-
pendsonthedirector.I’veneverplayedone tune, I give [them]five options.
Andthenit’sthedirectorwhodecides.
LookatthepeopleI’veworkedwith—
Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar,
MohammedRafi, Mukeshji, Asha Bh-
osle.It’sallteamwork.Today’ssing-
ersaregoodbutthereis lessvarietyin
the music. Now every song is Sufi.AC: Coming back to your look,
when you first started wearing
thesegoldchainsinthe’70s,how
didtheindustryreact?
BL:MybiggestinspirationwasElvis
Presley.I watchedhimasa child—heLahiritellsChoprathattheonlyother
personwhohelpswithhisself-styled
lookishiswifeChitraniLahiriLOCATIONCOURTESYBAYROUTEJUHU,MUMBAIcomposer,at66,heremainstheorigi-
nalkingof allthings over-the-topin
Hindi cinema. Over beetroot borani,
hummus and tea (his only addiction
apartfromgold,ofcourse!)andMiddle
Eastern pide at Mumbai’s Bayroute,
Bappi da in his uniqueway tells me
aboutwhatit takestobea trueorigi-
nal.AnupamaChopra:Howdidyour
loveaffairwithbling
begin?
Bappi Lahiri: It began when my
mothergave me my first gold chain in
1974.Andthenmywifegavemean-
otheronein1977,afterwegotmar-
ried.Afterthat,itwasfullgold!Today,
Bappi Lahiri means gold. When I’m in
NewYorkorLondonandit’sverycold,
mygoldchainsare hiddenundermy
jacket.TheIndianpubliccomeandask
me:“AreyouBappiLahiri?”AndIsay,
“Yes, I’m Bappi Lahiri.” Then they
say, “But where are all the gold
chains?”So,acrosstheworldnow,gold
chainmerapehchaanhai,it’smyiden-
tity.Nowallovertheworldpeoplesay,
“Bling Bling Bappi Lahiri.”The latest
film I’minisMarvel’sGuardiansOf
The Galaxy—they used my song
‘Jhoom,jhoom,jhoombaba’.Sonowin
Hollywoodtootheyknowmeas“Bling
Bling Bappi Lahiri.”AC:Whendidthecostumesget
dramaticandshiny?
BL: Now I’m 60-plus. After 60 you
should wear correct dress—itshould
berespectable.Pehlepehentathaek-
dumgaudy...Butmyimageisveryde-
fined, and my shiny costumesare part
of it. WheneverI go anywhere,I meet
my fans. I’m not a hero. But my fans
treat Bappi Lahiri as a hero. Because
theylovemysongs,whetherit is ‘Ooh
lala’ fromThe DirtyPicture (2001),hada chainwitha bigcross,darkglass-
es anda bracelet.I decidedthatI would
alsocreatean image formyself. And
just like that I establishedmy image
with time—and today without gold
there’snoBappida.Evennow,after50
years,if oneofmysongsplays,2,000
peoplewillbedancing.Ijustperformed
inSingapore,andbeforethatinMus-
cat and Goa. The public is mad
aboutme...AC:Whenyouwerecreatingthis
image,wereyoumockedforit?
BL:I gottheSupremeCourttocopy-
rightmylook.Nobodycancopyme,so
no one can dress up like Bappi Lahiri
ormakefunofme.If anybodycopies
mydress,I willsue.Infact,if anyone
copiesmysongs,I’llsuethem,too.In
2002, ‘Kaliyon ka chaman’ sung by
LataMangeshkarwasusedin aninter-
nationalsong—theytookit anddidn’t
givemeanycredit.I immediatelywent
to LosAngelesandsaidcredithadto be
given.I didn’twantmoneybecausethe
songis ownedbyHMV.Afteroneyear
they settledand I got justice.They’ve
given an “originalsong composed by
Bappi Lahiri”credit. There are some
songs of mine, like ‘Jimmy Jimmy’,
thathavebeensungin45languages.It
hasbeenremadeinRussia,China,Is-
tanbul.Sab‘JimmyJimmy’kepeech-
he pagal hai! Even ‘Disco Dancer’
made history.When MichaelJackson
visitedIndia,hemetmepersonallyand
said,“Iloveyoursong‘DiscoDancer’.”
Healsolovedmygold chains!AC:Fromtoday’sgenerationof
stars,whogetsBappida’s
approval?
BL:I like RanveerSinghandVarun
Dhawan. But today there is no such
thingaspersonalstyle.Whenyougoto
a function,a stylistdressesyou.Allthe
boys and girls are too simple—jeans,
shirt,pants.Yehhumsenahihota.nLahirisayshisjewelleryis hisrakshakawach
andheonlytakesit offwhenhe’sofftobedview