Where Bollywood Comes Alive
Posts tagged Disco Dancer
Features of 80s cinema and what work and what didn’t
02 months ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Whoever said recycling is good, probably was not thinking about the 80s. Here’s why…
MUMBAI MIRROR (February 28, 2013)
The 80s were a peculiar decade for Hindi cinema. Think cheesy dialogues, OTT clothes and ear-splitting music. Think also shiny disco balls and glamour girls who bucked the trend in their chic sensibility
There is no running away from it though, and thanks to the retro wave that is sweeping through the box office, here’s looking at what we don’t mind to see more of from that era, and what is best forgotten.
TRASH IT - You could kill someone with the needle-point white shoes immortalised by Jeetendra. And when paired with his all-white bodyhugging ensemble, Jumping-Jack became the single-most important factor behind the boom in the whitening industry.
- Anything plastic is bad for the system – smiles, surgery and yes, jewellery. The decade’s fascination with hoops, squares and other geometric shaped accessories in colours to match the outfit, was hurtful for the eyes.
- Women embraced padded shoulders and puffed sleeves, and the men pulled theirs back to give them company. And we rolled up our eyes in dismay. Think Love 86, and you have a lesson on what-never-to-wear.
- Tota- maina, Tathaiya tathaiya… cheesy lyrics set to tune with screechy violins and moves that were a curious mix of break, disco and all things Bollywood. Jeetendra, Govinda, Mithun… their signature move was the knee-jerk reaction. Pun intended.
TREND IT - Bappi Lahiri – The godfather More >
MC Hammer raps for Bappida
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
MUMBAI MIRROR; May 03, 2011
Pop rapper MC Hammer aka Stanley Kirk Burrell, who incidentally is a big fan of Disco Dancer, gets to rap with the man behind the music, Bappi Lahiri. It will be his first Indian association. Needless to say, the music composer is quite excited about it.
Bappida who had recently signed an American film Will To Live got Hammer to rap for a song as part of the film. “MC Hammer will rap on my song I Got The Music in the film Will To Live. He was very excited when I asked him to rap on my song. He is a big fan of Disco Dancer,” said the composer.
Hammer who had earlier rapped Bappida’s Disco Dancer has now become a good friend of the Indian composer. “If I get a chance I will surely make him rap in some Bollywood film,” added Bappi.
“The track is quite unique. It has both Indian and western flavours in it. It is more of a fusion with rap. Hammer and I both have sung together for the song. I have sung in Bollywood style and Hammer has rapped it. He has also written the rap lines.
It really feels great that Hammer has sung first time with an Indian and that’s with me,” concluded the ecstatic music man.
—Vivek Kar (Sanskriti Media and Entertainment)
Bappi Lahiri has signed MC Hammer to rap for his new son
Book Review: Disco Dancer – A Comedy in Five Acts
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in External Reviews
By Joginder Tuteja, March 28, 2011 – 17:26 IST
By deciding to do a book on Disco Dancer, author Anuvab Pal had a brilliant idea in hand. He basically intended to present a spoof version of the cult dance drama that was released close to three decades back and still ripe in people’s memories. Hence, Anuvab’s tribute was all about presenting the Hindi dialogues of the film in literal English translation, hence making an attempt to create an all around laughter by means of absurdity that the film conveys when ‘read’ in a different language.
Does the attempt work? Well partially, yes. However, if one expects a laugh-a-page riotous affair here then alas that doesn’t quite happen because after the novelty dies down, it all appears like a forced attempt at enticing laughter instead of something that could have come naturally had something far more original been tried to re-introduce ‘Disco Dancer’ to today’s youngsters.
Anuvab in fact does make an attempt to do that as well by coming up with a hilarious introduction to the core idea behind getting this book in place. One can pretty much sense that he has been a fan of ‘trash cinema’, as the likes of Disco Dancer are being referred to by majority. Reason being that some films are so bad that they turn out to be highly enjoyable. Of course the film was genuinely liked by many out there in the early 80s and that was the reason behind its international popularity. However one can clearly see that in current times More >
Bappida talks about his favourite picture
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
Recalling a magical concert, Bappida tells us why this exclusive picture will never be taken off his wall
Kathika Kandpal (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 13, 2011) Mithun and I were performing the famous song, Yaad aa raha hai tera pyaar from the 1983 blockbuster Disco Dancer,” Bappi Lahiri recollects, as he starts to sing Krishna dharti pe aaja tu…on the phone before continuing, “To our surprise, people in the audience took off their shirts and set them ablaze as a salute to us. It was an unforgettable sight.” The golden boy of the disco era, Bappi Lahiri, is a treasure trove of anecdotes dating from his rise to stardom, but this picture taken at an ‘80s concert is his favourite.
The fiery show called Hope 86 was held at Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata to help unemployed technicians in the Hindi film industry. This photo is special because three of his colleagues, Laxmikant of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji of Kalyanji Anandji, RD Burman performed at the concert. Bappida tells us, “This has never happened in the history of the Indian music industry. Four of the biggest musicians of Indian cinema, at that time, came together on stage. Jaise Michael Jackson ka concert hota tha na, waisa hi show tha.”
The turnout for the concert was massive, with both filmy people (who traveled the long distance from Mumbai) and one lakh fans (who came to see the star parade). Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Raj Kumar, Rekha, Dharmendra, Sridevi, Sanjay Dutt and Kumar More >
Monikangana: The Kathak kali
02 years ago
by Fenil Seta
in Bollywood News
When it comes to keeping her hot body in shape, Monikangana Dutta relies heavily on the dance form
Sayoni Sinha (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 28, 2010)
Monikangana Dutta’s love affair with dancing started as soon as she could stand on her feet. What started as grooving to Bollywood music, soon evolved into the more classical form of Kathak.
But given her demanding modelling schedule, she was left with no time. Now after a gap of a couple of years, she has taken up the art form again to keep herself fit.
Her earliest memory of dancing takes her back to the days when Disco Dancer was a chart buster. “I was a baby when I grooved to the tune of I am a disco dancer. That is the only song I knew,” she laughs. When she was a teenager, her favourite song was Is this Love by Whitesnake. “I wish I could dance like the girl in the video. I fancied everything in that song,” she admitted.
As she grew up, she started copying Saira Banu’s dance steps, graduating to Sridevi and then Madhuri Dixit. “I was quite fascinated by Saira Banu as she looked like a doll. Her tight churidars impressed me so much that I nagged my mother to get me a copy of those dresses.
I remember this science teacher in my school called Monika who used to wear those churidars. I kept wondering how she moved around in those figure hugging dresses. My fascination still continues,” she laughs.
Dance pe chance
Like all children her age, Monikangana took up dancing as an extracurricular More >