MUMBAI: A name we associate with gold and funky music, Bappi Lahiri, completed 50 long years in the music industry in 2019. Let’s have a look at some fun facts about this maverick music composer in this special year.

- Bappi Lahiri first started with percussion and learned tabla at the tender age of four. Legendary tabla player Pandit Samta Prasad of Benaras Gharana taught him the instrument.

- We all know him endearingly as Bappi Da but his official name is Alokesh Lahiri.

- It would not be unfair to say that music runs in his blood as the legendary singer Kishore Kumar is his maternal uncle and both his parents were well known Bengali singers.

- He was born in 1952 and for the past 50 years, he has actively been a part of the music industry. He composed his first Bengali song at the age of 11.

- The first film for which he composed music was Dadu in 1969. He was 16 years old and in Hindi it was Nanha Shikari.

- He composed background music for Tahir Hussain’s Madhosh. Music track for the same was composed by RD Burman.

- His song Jimmy Jimmy has a world record of being dubbed in 45 different languages, a record that shall stay unbroken for a long time.

- His extremely popular song Thoda Resham Lagta Hai was used in an international song Addictive by R&B singer Truth Hurts. This, however, landed in a legal matter, as the Indian company Sa Re Ga Ma sued the singer and the international label for $500 million dollars for using the portion without their knowledge. The LA Federal issued a notice to not sell any CDS till Lahiri’s name was accredited.

-Bappi Lahiri is one of the first composers to have rap piece in his compositions. And guess who rapped it? Amitabh Bachchan! This was for the song Chaar Yaar in Sharabi.

- He is also the first composer to compose a 12 minute track, one of its first kind in Hindi films. The song is Pag Ghungroo from Namak Halal.

- He contested for General Elections in 2014 for Srirampur, West Bengal for the BJP. However, he lost and didn’t continue it this election.

- Bappi Lahiri has lent his voice to animated film Moana.

-He was awarded with 63rd Filmfare Lifetime Achievement award.