Bappi Lahiri to wield megaphone

Reinvention has been at the heart of everything that Bappi Lahiri -- who turned 65 on Tuesday -- has done in his 50-year journey in showbiz.

The celebrated singer-composer, who introduced synthesised disco music in India and has taken Indian sounds to the world, is now set to don the director's hat for a feature film.

Bappi had earlier helmed a documentary "Slumstars", but his new project will be in the fiction space. It is titled ‘Ek Adhura Sangeet’.

"I always think I should keep doing something every year. This time, I will begin a big journey as a director of a feature film. It's a huge journey," Bappi told IANS over a recorded response from Mumbai.

On ‘Ek Adhura Sangeet’, he said: "Like the song 'Zindagi mera gaana, main isi ka deewana... I am a disco dancer'... Without music, people's lives are incomplete... Music can bring happiness in life. So, this is a journey that I am beginning."

He said the subject of his film is "very good".

Bappi also hinted at doing "something" in Hollywood. "My son Bappa and I are working with a Latin group," he said, adding that one never knows he may just be directed by a Hollywood filmmaker.

Adding another feather to his hat, Bappi has also written a book titled "World, Peace, Love and Harmony: We Are One".

He said while it is very difficult to choose a favourite song from his discography, "Chalte chalte..." is special as "it feels like a Bollywood anthem".