'The music was so good that I felt that it would be a great way to bring it back to life.'
Bappi Lahiri realised disco was a winning ticket and escalated his game with several more dancefloor perennials. Soon, every film producer and music director in town was down with disco fever. On what would have been Bappi Lahiri's 73rd birthday this November 27, Dinesh Raheja rewinds to the late music composer's halcyon days.
Older Russians recall Mithun Chakraborty and the song Jimmy Jimmy Aaja from the movie Disco Dancer.
Here's an excerpt from Anuvab Pal's Disco Dancer.
Turning an arrest into a mockery of sorts, the police in Hyderabad made a conman dance to the audience reportedly inside the city Deputy Commissioner of Police's office.
National-award winning actor, producer, hotelier, ex-politician, cricket team owner, philanthropist, highest tax payer, reality show judge, animal lover and, above all, people's hero -- Mithun Chakraborty -- who has been conferred the Dadasaheb Phalke Award -- is truly a force of nature, notes Sukanya Verma.
Mithun Chakraborty started from scratch in bit roles and had no Godfather backing him. Yet, remarkably, his career now straddles six decades and he continues to win acclaim, observes Dinesh Raheja.
With an aim of maximising its electoral prospects, Trinamool Congress will be using the 'star power' of actor Mithun Chakraborty to add spark to its campaign for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
'I never imagined that a boy from the footpath could receive such a big honour.'
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
'At the age of 68, I am in the best phase of my life.' 'What I have left of my life, I want to live with dignity.'
'I was in China and when they learnt I had made Disco Dancer, they started singing Jimmy Jimmy, Aaja Aaja.'
'Oscar has been given to A R Rahman.' Ringa Ringa Ringa, Choli ki peeche kya hai -- What's the difference? Exactly the same. Also, Jai ho.' 'I did Ramba ho in 1985.' 'Rahman combined three of my songs and got Best Original Score.' 'The Ho came from me.' 'Bappi Lahiri brought the Ho to Bollywood.'
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
'Here are 25 stories special to me for one reason too many,' says Sukanya Verma who scored 25 years writing about the movies last week.
'Mithun has showed Hindi cinema that a tall, dark man with a charming smile and a great physique can take the world on.'
'40 years later, the world is still singing I Am A Disco Dancer.'
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
The actors hit the stage to promote anime in India.
Niharika NM was the showstopper for designer Sameer Madan's collection at the LFW X FDCI.
Our stars glitter and no doubt impress Anna Wintour, head priestess of global fashion.
'Everything I know about acting and direction I learnt from him.'
A movie like Bad Boy being made in 2023 would have been just as unwatchable no matter who made it. That Rajkumar Santoshi has, is almost heart-breaking, sighs Deepa Gahlot.
'Holding on to superstardom is far more difficult than the struggle to get there.'
'He made people happy with his songs.' 'What matters is how many people you really make happy, how you connect and make them joyous and help them forget their problems.'
'I cannot be confined to just one or two kinds of music.'
Singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, who popularised disco music in India in the 1980s and 1990s, has died following multiple health issues. He was 69.
Amid huge cheers from supporters, Chakraborty, borrowing a dialogue from one of his films, said, "Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi... ami ekta cobra, ek chobol-ei chobi (Don't mistake me for a harmless snake, I am a cobra, can kill people in one bite)," he said.
Sukanya Verma looks at how the ladies scorch the streets in silver.
'My film will not only be a reminder for all of us who have gone through these hellish two years, but also a reference point for future generations and for the four-five year olds who would have forgotten everything by the time they grow up.'
'People sometimes ridiculed him for the way he looked or dressed.' 'Sometimes they ran down his music.' 'But I have never heard him say one bad word about anyone.'
Bappida's softer more creative work got buried in the noise, rues Subhash K Jha as he picks the late lamented composer's most soulful songs.
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