Were Bappi Da and Kishore Da India’s First True Blue Pop Stars?

The passing away of Bappi Lahiri came as a shock to the legions of fans of the “Disco King” of India. When the young Bappi Lahiri burst forth on the music scene in the 1970’s he infused a breath of fresh air into Indian film music imparting it with an energetic western beat that included the liberal use of drums and synthesizers.

Then there were the songs from Surakasha, India’s very own James Bond that was so popular, particularly Mausam Hai Ganey ka, Hasney Ka” song with so much joy by Bappi Da himself. 

The other great performer who belonged to an earlier generation and was a complete entertainer was Kishore Kumar, who sang, acted, and composed with complete gay abandon in his movies. His singing and enactment of the peppy jazz number, “Eena Meena Deeka” was absolutely world-class. As was his “Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhagi Si”, which is so uncannily similar to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl that was shot and picturized much later. Truly, he was a class unto himself and India’s very own Elvis in many ways. Like him, he sang as well as acted his way into the hearts of his audience.

While India had great playback singers in Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammad Rafi, they were not really pop stars and complete performers like Bappi Da and Kishore Da. The nineties, of course, saw a host of genuine pop stars in performers like Alisha Chinai (Made in India), Baba Sehgal (Thanda Thanda Pani), Lucky Ali(O Sanam), Daler Mehandi( Mein Dar Di Rab Rab Kardi), Anaida(Miss India), Mohit Chauhan (Dooba Dooba) and a host of others.