While having a conversation with the debatable 'disco king' Bappi Lahiri on Bollywood music today, during his recent visit to Vadodara and the chubby musician breaks into Ooh La La and says with a smile that it has become an anthem of sorts that even when he do stage shows abroad, the crowds ask him to sing it at least four times! Popularly called as Bappida has completed 40 years in the industry and that even this generation today still loves his music. He says that he always believed that songs are meant for enjoyment and he feels that's the secret behind his success. He adds, that he has delivered seven hit songs in a row and they are revisiting his old songs. That's why he is looking forward to the release of Himmatwala and that it's a great feeling while he says that he may have done about 470 films, but he never feel ki bahot ho gaya. This is the excerpts from the chat had with the Bappida.

According to Bappida, Gujarati is a very sweet language and he has always used elements from Gujarati songs in my music. In fact, he had really enjoyed composing music for the Gujarati film Janam Janam Na Saathi and that he love the garba songs there, which are so rich!

The disco king expresses his feelings that singers have come and gone, but my songs continue to be repeated and remixed even today and he feels very lucky that he got to work with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha didi and many more in the 1980s. Not just every singer, but even the composers back then had their own individual styles and distinct identity about their voice/music and that one could easily differentiate between film scores by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji or R D Burman. He says, he won't say that good work isn't happening. There are hit songs being made and some good singers too but the problem is that today, most composers and singers lack originality and that one may love a certain song, but that distinct flavour isn't existing which could become memorable.

Bappida added that after 1999, he thought that he needed a break and that as a senior composer and he didn't like the trend of three music directors working on a single film. But after a few quiet years, he was back for good.

There can be no doubt that originality has always been the key player in any creation and when it comes to music, it surely must be from the soul of the musician then only it can touch the soul of the music lovers.

(AW:Samrat Biswas)