The man with glittering gold around his neck and black shades who compelled us to tap to his beat on the floor for decades is no longer among us. The demise of Bappi Lahiri, which marks the end of an era, has left the world grief-stricken. While he brought a western disco flavour to most of his songs, many of them were more sublime and romantic. The songs of the 1987 Bengali cult classic Amar Sangi, especially Chirodini Tumi Je Amar, is one among them. And now the leading man of the movie, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee has expressed his shock and grief upon knowing about Bappi Da’s demise.
Prosenjit said, “I never imagined Bappi Da would leave us like this. The Prosenjit-Bappi Lahiri duo has always worked wonders, right from Chirodini Tumi Je Amar to singing Dhin Tak Tak Titak Titak from the more recent Bickram Singha. He had even composed music for all Hindi movies that I did. Apart from that, he has numerous hit numbers in Bengali about which nothing needs to be said.”
Apart from work, Prosenjit had a personal bond with Bappi Lahiri. In the words of the hero, “Most importantly, Bappida was like a close relative. Whenever I used to go to Bombay as a child, I used to meet Bappida. He was a beautiful human being as well who loved me a lot. His son Bappa is very young. I want to tell their family that I am by their side at this tough moment”
Prosenjit said he has always been fascinated by the musician’s work. He said, “What Bappida has created is a treasure. In the history of our music, in the history of film, Bappida’s name will be written in golden letters. His contributions are outstanding. Bengali and Hindi songs, of course, but Bappida’s popularity overseas is humongous. His popularity outside the country increased after the tracks from Disco Dancer travelled overseas. I hope Bappi Da is fine wherever he is.”
He signed off by repeating the lines of the famous song ‘Chirodini tumi je amar, juge juge ami tomar e (You are mine for eternity, and I am yours forever).
