Bappi Lahiri death: Famous Indian singer and composer dies aged 69

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Bappi Lahiri, one of India’s most iconic singers and trailblazing music composers, has died at the age of 69.

Lahiri died at Mumbai’s CritiCare Hospital on Wednesday (16 February) from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a breathing problem that occurs when a person sleeps.

CritiCare Hospital’s director Deepak Namjoshi said Lahiri “had been admitted to the hospital for a month and was discharged on Monday (14 February).”

However, “his health deteriorated on Tuesday (15 February) and his family called for a doctor to visit their home. He was brought to the hospital.”

The music composer was responsible for popularising disco music in Indian cinema in the 80s and 90s.

During his career, Lahiri delivered major box office successes in Bengali films such as Amar Sangee, Asha O Bhalobasha, Aamar Tumi, Amar Prem, Mandira, Badnam, Raktelekha, and Priya.

One of his most popular tunes, still widely listened today, has been “I Am A Disco Dancer” for the 1982 Bollywood movie Disco Dancer, starring actor Mithun Chakraborty, who is from Lahiri’s home state of West Bengal.

“Koi Yahan Aha Nache Nache”, another one of Lahiri's songs from the same movie, had seemingly been sampled from the song “Video Killed The Radio Star” from The Buggles.

Interestingly, “Bappi Da”, as Lahiri was fondly known, had won a lawsuit years later in 2003 against Dr Dre for sampling one of his songs from 1981. Lahiri had alleged the music mogul plagiarised the song “Kaliyon Ka Chaman” for “Truth Hurts”, a song in the album Addictive that was produced by Dre.

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Those named in the suit were Dr Dre's label Aftermath Entertainment, parent company Interscope Records and Universal Music.

In 2014, Lahiri joined politics. He had contested the national elections in the same year on a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ticket from his home state, but had lost.

Many celebrities from the entertainment industry and politicians paid tribute to the singer on social media.

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi wrote: “Shri Bappi Lahiri Ji’s music was all-encompassing, beautifully expressing diverse emotions.”

“People across generations could relate to his works. His lively nature will be missed by everyone. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers.”

Lahiri’s death comes after the death of Lata Mangeshkar, one of the country’s most popular and beloved singers. She had died aged 92, having tested positive for Covid last month. Legendary Bengali singer Sandhya Mukherjee also passed away on Tuesday at the age of 90.