Celebrated composer Bappi Lahiri's last rites took place this morning, a day after his death. Bappi Da, as he was known to everyone, was given a warm send-off by family, friends and fans. His final journey, from the family home in Juhu, Mumbai to the Pawan Hans crematorium, featured the two items that Bappi Lahiri was never seen without - his trademark sunglasses were intact and there was a golden chain nestled among the garlands. Bappi Lahiri died of sleep apnea on Tuesday night in a Mumbai hospital where he was being treated for a variety of ailments. He was 69.
Bappi Lahiri died of sleep apnea on Tuesday night.
The funeral took place on Thursday so that the composer's son Bappa, who lives in Los Angeles, could attend. After flying into Mumbai with his family, Bappa Lahiri was pictured at his father's last rites - he and Rani Mukerji's brother Raja were among the pallbearers.
Bappa Lahiri was pictured at his father's last rites
Bappa Lahiri at father's funeral.
Police were present at the funeral to manage the crowd gathered and had barricaded the lane to the Lahiri residence. Son Bappa conducted the last rites and greeted the gathered well-wishers and media with a namaste after the cremation. He was accompanied by sister Rema.
Bappa Lahiri at the funeral.
The funeral was attended by family and friends, among them actress Vidya Balan, star of 2011 film The Dirty Picture in which Bappi Lahiri sang the song Ooh La La. In a tweet posted yesterday, the actress revealed that Bappi Da used to call her "Bidda" which is the Bengali pronunciation of her name.
Vidya Balan at Bappi Lahiri's funeral.
Several other members of the Mukerji family were present apart from Raja. The Mukerjis and Lahiris are connected - both are related to the Ganguly family to which Kishore Kumar belonged; Kishore Kumar sang many of Bappi Lahiri's greatest hits.
Border star Sharbani, cousin of Kajol and Rani Mukerji, was at the funeral as was her brother Samrat. Veteran actor Biswajit Chatterjee attended as well - 1985 film Saaheb, in which he starred with Anil Kapoor and Amrita Singh, contained one of Bappi Lahiri's best-known songs, Pyar Bina Chain Kaha Re. Bappi Da also scored several of Biswajit's son Prosenjit's films.
Sharbani Mukerjee at Bappi Lahiri's funeral.
Biswajit Chatterjee at the funeral.
Singers Alka Yagnik and Ila Arun, who have sang for several songs composed by Bappi Lahiri, were pictured at the funeral together.
Ila Arun and Alka Yagnik at the funeral.
Bappi Lahiri's son Bappa Lahiri, who stays in the US, landed in Mumbai this morning.
On Wednesday, members of the Hindi film and music fraternity visited Bappi Lahiri's residence, among them Alka Yagnik, Shaan, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, composer Lalit Pandit, Padmini Kolhapure and sister Shivangi and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. The Mukerjis visited as well - Kajol, her mother Tanuja, Sharbani and uncle Deb.
Bappi Lahiri is survived by his wife Chitrani, son Bappa, daughter Rema and their families. Bappi Lahiri was best-known for delivering hits in several films of the late 1970s-80s like Chalte Chalte, Disco Dancer, and Sharaabi, to name a few. His last Bollywood song was titled Bhankas was for the 2020 film Baaghi 3, starring Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor. The veteran singer also made an appearance during an episode of the last season of the TV reality show Bigg Boss 15, where he appeared as a guest.
