Bappi Lahiri and Lata Mangeshkar: Indian music industry loses 2 doyens in less than 2 weeks

New Delhi | Jagran Entertainment Desk: Alokesh Lahiri or Bappi Lahiri or Bappi Da passed away on Tuesday night due to obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) at Mumbai's CritiCare Hospital, a doctor treating him said on Wednesday morning. The music composer-cum-singer, who revolutionised the Indian music industry, was 69-year-old.

"Lahiri had been admitted to the hospital for a month and was discharged on Monday. But his health deteriorated on Tuesday and his family called for a doctor to visit their home. He was brought to the hospital. He had multiple health issues. He died due to OSA shortly before midnight," Dr Deepak Namjoshi, director of CritiCare Hospital, told news agency PTI.

Lahiri's death is the second big loss for the Indian music industry in less than two weeks. On February 6, India had lost one of its biggest music icons Lata Mangeshkar. The legendary singer died at the age of 92 due to multiple organ failure, doctors treating her had said.

The deaths of both Lahiri and Mangeshkar are a huge loss for India and the void left by them in the music industry would be hard to fill. Interestingly, both Lahiri and Mangeshkar had an old connection with each other.

Two icons of the Indian music industry have left us within days of each other. Here, #BappiLahiri is photographed alongside #LataMangeshkar. May they rest in peace and glory. pic.twitter.com/G7xAxbNtbh

— Filmfare (@filmfare) February 16, 2022

During an interview with ETimes in 2012, Lahiri had recalled how Mangeshkar once visited him at his house when he was a kid and how she "supported" him through the years.

"I was 4 when in the Eden Garden locality of Kolkata where we lived, Lataji came home and blessed me. I still have a picture of me sitting in her lap. She sang many Bangla songs for my father (Aparesh Lahiri) who was a well-known composer in Kolkata," he had said.

Also Read - From Dil Tha Akela to Saiyaan Bina, 5 iconic songs of 'disco king' Bappi Lahiri with Lata Mangeshkar

"From then on she has supported me. She sang my first composition in a Bengali film Daadu. If she hadn’t sung for me, I’d have been swept away by the competition."

"My first big Bollywood hit score was Aamir Khan’s father Tahir Hussain’s Zakhmee. In that Lataji sang Abhi abhi thi dushmani and Aao tujhe chand pe le jaaon. Both big hits," he recalled.