Jamie Jones and The Martinez Brothers have also remixed ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ as a tribute to India’s Golden Man in his 50th year
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 22, 2019)

Bappi Lahiri struck gold this year, completing 50 years as a composer, during the course of which he has given the music for over 600 films and scored 9000 songs. And incredibly, at the age of 66, he’s still going strong.

Speaking to Mirror from Los Angeles, he nonchalantly informs that he had just recorded two songs with Lady Gaga. Lady Gaga? Did we hear right? “Yes, two duets, with her singing in English and me in Hindi in my inimitable style. We are now waiting for the release to be greenlit, hopefully by the year-end. I also collaborated with Akon two months ago. That song should also be out soon.” Phew! The Indian Jackson has a way of suddenly pulling a rabbit or two out of his hat. Prod him for details and he is evasive: “Abhi itna hi.”

But wait, Bappi Lahiri isn’t done yet. Tech house wizard Jamie Jones and DJ duo The Martinez Brothers have joined hands for the first time for a two-tracker, Bappi, which has set dance floors on fire all summer. The title track, “Bappi”, opens with a trademark bassline, trips through strings and sirens, with distinctive Indian vocals woven in. “Bappi (Warehouse Mix)” on the other side, magnifes the groove. “It features a remix of my superhit song from Disco Dancer, “Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy”. The British-Sri Lankan rapper M.I.A. used the same song in her 2007 album Kala and, a year later, it was also there in the climax scene of Adam Sandler-film, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan,” he reminds you.

Popular in countries like China, Korea, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, “Jimmy” has also popped up in cover versions by Russians and Tibetan artistes. In 2010, it landed an Uzbek local, Baimurat Allaberiyev, a role in a Russian film after he posted a video of himself singing “Jimmy” online.

Quiz him about the original, from B Subhash’s 1982 musical, featuring Mithun Chakraborty in the title role of a disco dancer Anil aka Jimmy, and Bappi says, “The song took a long time to record because I introduced disco beats in Indian antara, to come up with an innovative sound. I also experimented with a new singer, Parvati Khan. But see, almost four decades later, people around the world are still playing it as a rare tribute to an Indian composer. I’m overwhelmed and feel proud to be accorded this honour,” he signs off exultantly.

Soumya Vajpayee Tiwari (MID-DAY; October 2, 2016)

It's believed that music bridges the gaps between countries. This holds true for several years of cultural exchange between India and Pakistan. A few years ago, many Indian filmmakers had started banking on popular international musicians for the success of their films’ soundtracks. While Thai pop sensation Tata Young sang Dhoom Machale for Dhoom (2004), American R&B singer-songwriter Akon (above) sang Chammak Challo in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Ra.One (2011). Also, Snoop Dogg donned Indian attire and did bhangra with Akshay Kumar in Singh Is Kinng (2008). The rapper grooved to the tunes of the title song of the film. But there was a lull in the trend for a while. Now, it seems to be making a comeback. Several international artistes have started embarking towards Bollywood again.


New voyage
Akon has come on board for a track in Tum Bin 2, alongside Pakistani singer Atif Aslam. The makers of the movie have also signed West Indies cricketer Dwayne Bravo (above), aka DJ Bravo, for a song. This marks the cricketer-musician’s Bollywood playback debut. There’s also buzz around UK-based popular teen band, The Vamps, who are part of Ajay Devgn’s upcoming film Shivaay’s soundtrack. The band also did a music video, Beliya, with composer duo Vishal-Shekhar recently. While Pakistani singers Ghulam Ali, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Atif Aslam and Ali Zafar have been part of Bollywood’s music space for a long time, the latest entrant from across the border is singer Quratulain Balouch (below). She has made an impression with her powerful rendition of the song Kaari Kaari from Pink.


Strong connect
Anubhav Sinha, the producer-director of Tum Bin 2, says he shares a great bond with Akon ever since they worked together on Ra.One. Explaining why he decided to get Akon and Bravo on board, the filmmaker says, “Akon has a huge fan base in India. And Dwayne’s single, Champion, got close to 25 million hits. Collaborating with artistes of that stature makes sense, because they are 75 per cent Indian at heart, owing to their existing bond with the place that has a lot of their fans.”

Ajay Devgn, the producer-director of Shivaay reveals that he was clueless who The Vamps (below) were. “But my daughter jumped when she heard their name. She told me they are massive. That’s when we decided to have them on board,” says the actor-filmmaker.



Worth spending on
Though getting international artistes on board can burn a hole in filmmakers’ pocket, they are still preferred, as they help generate buzz around new movies. “International artistes are expensive. However, attaching an international name to a film’s soundtrack attracts global audience. It helps in the pre-publicity for a movie. Today, with films being a competitive business and every movie vying for the audience’s attention, one off associations gives a film high recall value,” explains Sinha, adding that such associations also help bridge cross-cultural synergies.

Devgn doesn’t feel getting international musicians on board is expensive. “Though it’s a time-consuming affair, when you look at it, you realise that the entertainment world is shrinking. Besides it’s never a matter of pricing. It’s more about how the energies align to create great content,” he says.

Filmmakers feel having international musicians adds value to their projects. “Today, every film requires good music to sustain itself in the market. Anything 'foreign' excites the masses, which, in turn, boosts the musical score of the film,” says Sinha.

Ajay adds the trend adds 'immense value' to the project. “Today’s generation, whether in Mumbai or Varanasi or anywhere in the world, is ‎a global generation. They can’t get enough of new content. So, such collaborations work.”

No insecurity
But are Indian singers welcoming of the trend? Singer Rekha Bhardwaj loves the fact that more and more international singers are singing for Bollywood. “I feel it’s great. If a film song has rap, and if a filmmaker can get one of world’s best rappers for the track, then why not? There’s no question of being insecure, as every singer is special in his or her own right,” she says.

Shilpi Sampad (MID-DAY; September 13, 2016)

Five years after he crooned his first Bollywood number, Chammak Challo, for Anubhav Sinha’s RA.One, Akon is set to collaborate with the director yet again. The American R& B singing sensation will soon fly to Mumbai to record the end credits song for Tum Bin 2 along with Pakistani singer, Atif Aslam.

Says an insider, “Sinha is keen to recreate the Tumhare Siva Kuch Na track from Tum Bin (2001) as it had topped music charts that year. Ankit Tiwari will compose the romantic song to be sung by Atif Aslam with Akon singing the hook-line in Hindi. The video will be shot at a five star vintage hotel in India.”

Quizzed about collaborating with Akon for the second time, Sinha says, “It’s too early to divulge details as we are in the initial stages of discussion with Akon’s team.” Windies cricketer Dwayne Bravo will also lend his voice to a peppy number, Jaegerbomb, in the film. Shot in Scotland, Tum Bin 2 marks Sinha’s return to direction after five years and reunion with producer Bhushan Kumar after a decade and a half.

The film stars Neha Sharma with newcomers, Aditya Seal and Aashim Gulati.

After three international singles, the 33-year-old actress has lip-synced to Enrique Iglesias's next release
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 11, 2016) 

From singles to a prime-time American TV show, a Hollywood film debut and several red carpet appearances, Priyanka Chopra has come a long way in the West. Now, she has added another feather in her cap with an appearance in a music video alongside the likes of Jennifer Lopez, football player Christiano Ronaldo, actress-model Milla Jovovich, American TV personality Ryan Seacrest and singer Akon, among others.

Titled "Don't You Need Somebody", Enrique Iglesias, R City, Serayah and Shaggy have lent their voices to the song which is a part of Moroccan-Swedish artiste, Nadir Khayat's debut album.

The video premiered on Friday and has glimpses of Priyanka grooving in a nude jumpsuit. The actress is currently busy promoting her Bhojpuri production, Bam Bam Bol Raha Hai Kashi, directed by Santosh Mishra and featuring Amrapali Dubey and Dinesh Lal Yadav (Nirahua), in Patna.