The sudden death of veteran musician Bappi Lahiri has left his peers in shock. One among them is filmmaker K C Bokadia, who worked with the late legend on several projects. “Bappi ji and I worked together in more than 20 films. Our association was really long, and it wasn’t just limited to work. We shared a strong personal bond, too. We were like family,” says Bokadia. 

He adds, “As far as our work associations go, we worked on films such as Aaj Ka Arjun (1990), which featured the super hit song, Gori Hain Kalaiyaan. Then there were projects like Phool Bane Angarey (1991), Police Aur Mujrim, Tyagi (both 1992), etc. Working with him was always a pleasure. His work ethic was phenomenal.”

What makes the Lal Baadshah (1999) director content is that, after an association for over three decades, Lahiri was part of his most recent project, too. “The biggest thing is that almost three months ago, he finished working on the music for my film, Two Brothers Teri Meherbaniyan 2. Apart from composing the music, he’s also sung a few songs in the film along with Sonu Nigam (singer),” says the filmmaker, who feels Lahiri’s death has been a shock for him: “It’s a personal loss.”