Bappi da was a man of great guts: Disco Dancer singer Vijay Benedict

It was in 1982 that late music composer and singer Bappi Lahiri gave newbie Vijay Benedict his first break as a playback singer in Disco Dancer. Over the next few years, Benedict went on to sing for Lahiri in films like Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki (1984) and Dance Dance (1987).

He tells us, “Bappi da loved me and I’m eternally grateful to him. I’ll never forget him. He’s a man of great guts to have given so many newcomers like me a chance.”

Looking back at the time when they first met, Benedict says, “I had met him in London for the first time where I was singing, working and enjoying my life. He told me to come to Mumbai and check out the music scene here.”

During his early months in Mumbai in the early 1980s, he spent a considerable amount of time with Lahiri’s family and their home became his own. “They welcomed me as one of their own. I spent all my time at his home since I knew no one in the city. His parents were so hospitable and we would chat for hours,” Benedict recalls.

While they continued recording for films, the duo kept flying across different nooks of the globe performing in live shows. “From Royal Albert Hall (London), Madison Square Garden (New York) and Chicago to Indira Gandhi Stadium (Delhi) and Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai)… we performed together and shared a great rapport. I would always go out of my way for him. Even if I had other commitments, I would always prioritise him,” says Benedict.

Talking about how Lahiri made a mark with his composition of melodious numbers too, Benedict says, “People may have taken him lightly at times. He was highly talented and was a master of melodious and rhythmic songs too.”