Maharashtra, Mumbai: Musician and singer Bappi Lahiri, who popularized Indian disco music in the 80s and 90s, passed away today at Criticare Hospital in Mumbai. He was 69 years old. The director of the hospital, Dr. Deepak Namjoshi, said that Lahiri was admitted to the hospital for a month and was discharged on February 14.
But suddenly his health deteriorated yesterday and his family called a doctor to his house. He was brought back to the hospital. He had many health problems. He died of OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) shortly before midnight. Bappi Lahiri, the disco king of Indian music, was born in Calcutta, West Bengal in 1952 in a family with a rich tradition in classical music.
He started his career as a music director at the young age of 19. His father Aparesh Lahiri was a famous Bengali singer and his mother Bansari Lahiri was a musician and a singer who was well versed in classical music and Shyama Sangeet.
He got his first opportunity to sing in the Bengali film Dadu (1972) and the first Hindi film for which he composed music was Little Shikari (1973). The film that established him in Bollywood was Tahir Hussain’s Hindi film Zakhmi (1975), for which he composed music and made a mark as a playback singer.