Iconic Indian singer-composer Bappi Lahiri, known for creating funky disco tunes including the chart-busting "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" that became a huge international hit, including in China and former Soviet Union, died at the age of 69 late Tuesday.

Dubbed as India's "Disco King" and known for his "bejeweled" fashion style, Lahiri breathed his last at Mumbai's CritiCare Hospital. Lahiri, who is credited for popularizing disco music in South Asia and beyond, is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.

The musician had recovered from COVID-19 in April last year but was being treated at the hospital for the past month due to other health issues.

"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 (obstructive sleep apnea) shortly before midnight (local time)," Dr. Deepak Namjoshi, director of the CritiCare Hospital, was quoted as saying by Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

Lahiri's death comes within days of the demise of India's iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar who passed away on February 6.

Lahiri's family announced their bereavement on Wednesday, prompting tributes from Bollywood stars and political leaders including from the president and prime minister of India. 

"His groundbreaking music popularized new genres, instilled new sensibilities and deeply influenced our culture and art. Bappi Lahiri will live in our hearts forever. Heartfelt condolences to his family and friends," tweeted Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Minister of India's southern Kerala state.

Oscar and Grammy-winning composer A R Rahman tweeted his condolences while describing Lahiri as the "Disco King of Hindi cinema!"

Bollywood superstar Akshay Kumar confessed that Lahiri's music "was the reason for millions to dance, including me."

"Thank you for all the happiness you brought through your music," he added in his tweet.

A prodigious journey

Born Alokesh Lahiri into a musical family in India's West Bengal state on November 27, 1952, he started playing tabla, an Indian percussion instrument, at the age of 3. Later, he was trained by his parents in Indian classical music.

The singer-composer made his Bollywood debut in 1973 and immediately made a mark with his foot-tapping disco tunes and also soulful melodies in several movies including "Chalte Chalte," "Disco Dancer," "Namak Halal," "Sharabi," "Aitbaar," "Saheb," "Dance Dance," "Thanedaar," and "Dalal." 

Lahiri, who dropped the formal Alokesh for his nickname Bappi as his screen name, continued to compose music parallelly and prolifically for Bengali films.

Besides his musical works, Lahiri successfully cultivated a larger-than-life image by sporting heavy gold necklaces and thick sunglasses that became the symbols of disco culture of the time and much loved by his fans.

In the course of his nearly five-decades-long career, Lahiri also collaborated with other international artists such as Snoop Dogg and Samantha Fox and also gave his voice to several characters for Hindi-language versions of Hollywood films including "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" and "Moana."

In the early 2000s, the Indian musician won a copyright case against U.S. rapper-producer Dr. Dre for using parts of one his songs.

Jimmy Jimmy, a legacy: Personal anecdotes from China

However, the Indian Disco King's most internationally recognized work remains his soundtrack and compositions from the 1982 movie "Disco Dancer." The movie became a huge international hit, with the song "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja" attaining a cult status in the then Soviet Union and much of Central Asia.

Here's a personal anecdote of how I came to learn that the movie and the song also enjoyed much popularity in China. 

During my initial days in Beijing in 2017, one evening I was invited by some of my Chinese colleagues to a party at a plush KTV – karaoke bars that are immensely popular among youths in China – in the mall opposite our workplace.

At the party I was spellbound by the vocal talents of my Chinese colleagues, who were belting out one melodious track after the other from a mostly English, but also Chinese, pop music playlist with much enthusiasm and aplomb.

Everyone had to sing and all of a sudden it was my turn. I tried to excuse myself saying I sing only Bollywood songs. As if on cue, a colleague promptly asked me if I can sing "Jimmy Aaja." For a moment, I couldn't decipher what he meant.

But then he played the track on the KTV playlist and I immediately recognized the familiar song that I had hummed since my childhood in India. I had no excuse left. I crooned to the funky karaoke track and some of my Chinese colleagues joined me in singing the foot-tapping song, albeit with Chinese lyrics.

I had known that "Disco Dancer" had been popular in the Soviet Union and Central Asia but this was the first time I was made aware that the song was equally popular in China and also across generations.

Since then, I have seen many Chinese versions of the song and participants in talent shows on Chinese television performing on the song. I have been greeted by total strangers with a "Jimmy Aaja" when they found out I am from India and dabble in Bollywood music sometimes, reinforcing the popularity and the recall value of the song among Chinese people from different backgrounds even today.

Last summer, during a work trip to Kashgar in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, our local hosts organized a special cultural event that included a memorable interactive dance performance to a few Bollywood songs including the ubiquitous "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja Aaja."

The sad news of Bappi Lahiri's death instantly made me traverse down this beautiful memory lane regarding this one song in China, which truly underpins the idea of "music knows no language and no bounds."

Bappida, as he is fondly called in India, will be missed, and remembered, for the music that transcended all barriers and gave joy to many across the world through several decades.