Bappi Lahiri on ‘Namak Halaal’ remake

The news that producer Murad Khetani has bought the remake rights of one of Amitabh Bachchan’s biggest blockbusters Namak Halaal triggered off a chain of speculative reactions in the media.

The tireless Bappi Lahiri whose music went a long way in making the film such a historic success wonders if the producer intends to use the original music. “Nobody has approached me. So I don’t know what their plans are. But the music that I did for Namak Halaal is remembered and hummed to this day.”

One cannot imagine Namak Halaal without Pug ghungroo. It was shot by Prakash Mehraji in a 11-minute sequence, the longest song sequence in a Hindi film.Kishoreda (Kumar) sang Pag ghungroo as only he could. He rightly won the Filmfare award for his vocals. I consider Pag ghungroo among my best achievements. Ashaji’s Jawani jaan-e-mann was also a big hit.”

Bappida has a very special place for Namak Halaal in his heart. “It was my first film with Prakash Mehraji. Before this, he worked with the great Kalaynji-Anandji in Haseena Maan Jayegi, Zanjeer, Haath Ki Safaai and Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Namak Halaal was a big challenge for me. After this Prakash Mehaji and I did Sharaabi with Bachchan Saab again taking the songs to unexpected heights. They don’t make stars like Bachchan Saab anymore. Or filmmakers like Prakash Mehra.”