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Bappi Lahiri Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated September 28, 2026 • 6 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth27 November 1952

Age69 (at time of death)

BirthplaceSirajganj, Bangladesh (now Jalpaiguri, West Bengal)

ProfessionSinger and Music Composer

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpouseChitrani Lahiri

FamilySon - Bappa Lahiri; Daughter - Rema Lahiri; Father - Aparesh Lahiri; Mother - Bansari Lahiri

Bappi Lahiri Biography

Alokesh Bappi Lahiri, widely known as Bappi Lahiri or Bappi Daa, was an Indian singer and music composer celebrated for popularising disco sounds in Indian

Early life and background
Alokesh Bappi Lahiri was born on 27 November 1952 in Sirajganj (now part of Jalpaiguri, West Bengal). He came from a musically inclined family: his father Aparesh Lahiri was a singer and his mother Bansari Lahiri was a singer and classical dancer. From an early age he showed a strong affinity for music, learning tabla at age three and later taking up a wide range of instruments including piano, drums, guitar, saxophone, bongos and dholak.

Career
Bappi Lahiri began his career as a music composer in films during the 1970s, making his debut in Hindi cinema with Nanha Shikari (1973) and in Bengali cinema with Daadu (1974). He rose to wide public prominence in the mid-1970s and became closely associated with the disco-era sound in Indian film music. His work on the Bollywood film Zakhmee (1975) helped establish his reputation.

Across a long career he composed and sang for a large number of films in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Kannada, Telugu, Tamil and Oriya. His film credits span commercially successful and popular titles such as Chalte Chalte (1976), Disco Dancer (1982), Namak Halaal (1982), Sharaabi (1984), Dharma Karma (1997), Taxi No. 9211 (2006), The Dirty Picture (2011) and Badrinath Ki Dulhania (2017). A selection of songs frequently associated with him includes Yaar Bina Chain Kaha Re (Saaheb), I Am A Disco Dancer (Disco Dancer), Aaj Rapat Jaayein (Namak Halaal), Raat Baaqi (Namak Halaal), Dede Pyaar De (Sharaabi), Tamma Tamma (Thanedar) and Ooh La La (The Dirty Picture).

Beyond Hindi cinema he contributed music to Kannada films such as Africadalli Sheela (1986) and Krishna Nee Begane Baro (1986); Telugu productions including Simhasanam (1986) and Rowdy Inspector (1992); and Tamil projects like Apoorva Sahodarigal (1983) and Kizhakku Africavil Sheela (1987). His body of work reportedly includes thousands of songs and produced sustained commercial success through the 1980s.

Lahiri also worked as a dubbing artist in later years, providing the Hindi voice for the character Tamatoa in the 2016 Hindi version of the animated film Moana and dubbing Elton John’s role in the Hindi release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).

Achievements and recognition
He held claims to industry records, including a mention in the Guinness Book for producing music for 33 films in a single year, and was credited with supplying music for a run of commercially enduring films in the mid-1980s. International intersections of his work include a widely noted use of lines from his song Thoda Resham Lagta Hai in an American recording, after which his name was added to the songwriting credits.

Lahiri judged television music shows such as Sa Re Ga Ma Pa L’il Champs (2006), Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge (2007) and K For Kishore, and composed the theme music for the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL team in 2008. He received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award at the 63rd Filmfare Awards in 2018.

Public profile
Known publicly by nicknames including Bappi Daa and the Disco King of India, Lahiri cultivated a distinctive personal style, often associated with wearing gold and sunglasses. He spoke about gold as a symbol of luck and personal image. He maintained connections with other prominent musicians during his life and met international artists such as Michael Jackson in India in 1996.

Politics and later life
Lahiri joined the Bharatiya Janata Party on 31 January 2014 and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha election from the Srerampur constituency, where he was not elected. He continued to work in the entertainment industry and to appear in public roles into the 2010s.

Death
Bappi Lahiri died on 16 February 2022 at CritiCare Hospital in Mumbai. He was 69 years old at the time of his death and the reported cause was obstructive sleep apnea.

Latest updates
In the years before his passing Lahiri remained visible through music credits, occasional television appearances and public acknowledgements such as lifetime achievement honours, and his songs continued to be referenced and reused in other works.
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Recent Work

Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Composer (song contributions)

2017
The Dirty Picture

Composer (song contributions)

2011
Taxi No. 9211

Composer (song contributions)

2006
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Career Highlights

  1. Debuted as a music composer in Hindi film Nanha Shikari (1973) and Bengali film Daadu (1974)
  2. Popularized disco-influenced film music, notably with Disco Dancer (1982) and Namak Halaal (1982)
  3. Composed songs across multiple Indian languages and thousands of tracks
  4. Held a Guinness Book mention for composing music for 33 films in a year
  5. Judged major music television shows and received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award (2018)
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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Bappi Lahiri born?

27 November 1952

What is Bappi Lahiri known for?

Singer and Music Composer

What is Bappi Lahiri’s marital status?

Married

Who is Bappi Lahiri married to?

Chitrani Lahiri