Bappi Lahiri is not only one of the most well-known music composers of Hindi cinema, but also a singer who brought his own style of singing. Among the songs he has sung, ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hai Tera Pyar’ from Disco Dancer (1982) remains one of his best renditions.
But not many would know that legendary singer Kishore Kumar was earlier supposed to sing it. The incident was revealed by Lahiri while talking exclusively with Cinestaan.com on the occasion of the 29th death anniversary of Kumar.
Recalling one of the most memorable moments with Kumar, he said, “The super-duper hit song from Disco Dancer was sung by me. But Kishore da was supposed to sing it earlier. I did the dummy recording of the song for him. After listening to it he told director B Subhash, ‘Bappi has sung it so well. His voice should be used in it.’ He loved me a lot,” he reminisced.
There is another significance to the Bappi-Kishore relationship. The late singer recorded the last song of his career ‘Guru Guru’ with Bappi da. “He sang the last song of his career for me on 12 October 1987 (a day before his passing away) for Waqt Ki Awaaz with Asha Bhosale till 6 pm. And the next day at 2 pm he expired. He also sang his last Bengali song, ‘Asha Bhalobasa’ (from the film Asha O Bhalobasa) for me,” informed Lahiri.
The veteran composer shared a deep bond with Kumar. “After my parents, it was Kishore da. I have been working for 48 years because of Kishore Kumar ji’s blessings. He was the one and only. A versatile singer like him will never emerge ever. Just like Michael Jackson was the one and only, so is Kishore Kumar. He sang a number of hit songs with me, like ‘Chalte Chalte,’ ‘Inteha Ho Gayi,’ ‘Pag Ghungroo Baandh’ and ‘Taaki O Taaki.’"
Kishore da’s death had left Lahiri shattered. In fact, he had even thought of taking an extreme step following his death. “I had decided to quit music direction. But then I thought, anyway, the show must go on.”