Bappi Lahiri (as singer)

Alokesh Lahiri was born in Jalpaiguri in 1952 to singer parents and was a tabla prodigy; Kishore Kumar was a maternal uncle. He composed from 1973 (Nanha Shikari), had a first hit with Zakhmee and Chalte Chalte (1976), and from Disco Dancer (1982) and Namak Halaal onwards was the sound of the Mithun Chakraborty era: Sharaabi, Dance Dance, Commando, Thanedaar. He sang on many of these — his voice, gold chains and dark glasses were all part of the act.

His later career included Ooh La La (2011) and a run of voice appearances and television; he died in Mumbai in February 2022, at sixty-nine. His son Bappa Lahiri composes.

Bappi's singing voice is rough, nasal and loud, with a Bengali vowel and an infectious lack of polish; he used it for the party, the street and the joke, and on a dance track it has a drive trained singers could not supply.