One of the biggest bestsellers of 2004 was the Da Vinci Code. The basic theme of the book was about how Leornado Da Vinci would leave hidden clues in his paintings and drawings. But unknown to many there exists another code called The Da Bappi Code.
This code has been devised by a very creative and talented music director called Bappi Lahiriwho was at the peak of his prowess in the 80?s, but found himself out of favor by the 90?s thanks due to the emergence of new talents some of them like Anand Milind and Anu Mallik in fact even carried on with his tradition.
Unable to bear the fact that he was no longer the king, he compiled some of his masterpieces into a series called the Da Bappi Code. And then he put a curse saying that whoever tries to decipher the code, would be forever condemned to the mental asylum. Since then people only heard his songs, and the few who did try to understand his songs, had to suffer the indignity of going to the asylum. So here are some of the codes I could get from one of the albums called Magic Moments, by a soul who doesn?t wish to be named. So yours truly did try to make some sense out of these songs, but after some time had to give up as I found myself hurtling down into a mental abyss and I had a family to support.
Ek Aankh Maaron To Parda Hat Jaaye
Now this is a very simple formula to patao a girl. If she is in parda, wink one eye, her parda will unveil. If she is in parda and horror of horrors with her dad, then wink the other eye, his kaleja will stop and then you can wink to unveil her parda. And of course now all you need to patao a female is to wink both your eyes and she will fall for you. She will indicate her love for you saying ?Dhankas? it means great you have decoded the Da Bappi Code and I love u now. Oh Me, how simple, and all my life I was searching for this ultimate truth to impress a female.
You are My Fish Fry
Now this happens to be from a very unknown movie called Rock Dancer. The only reason people know of this movie is that t starred Samantha Fox and Govinda. Now obviously you cant quote shayari to Sammy dear right. So our Bappi da, has made our hero express his love for her in the form of Indian cuisine. How wonderful, how creative.So the song goes like ?You Are My Fish Fry, I am your Masala Dosa, You are my Sarson Da Saag , I am your Aloo Tikki?. At the end of this song my bheja too was fully fried.
Main Teri Tota, Tu Meri Maina
To all those lovers who are unable to find the right words to express their love for each other, please read the Da Bappi Code. If in the above song, he compares the lovers compare each other with all items of Indian cuisine, here he goes into a higher level, he makes lovers say ?I am your Parrot, You are my mynah, I will be your parrot, and you sing like a mynah to me?. Its been reliably learnt that after listening to this song, all the tota?s and mynah?s of India are planning to sue Bappi Da for defaming them so badly in a song.
Ladki Nahin Hai Tu Lakdi Ka Khamba Hai
We have heard of females being compared with the moon, with the stars, with flowers. But this must be the only song where the heroine is compared with a pillar of wood. Oh Bappi Da, I salute you for your sheer originality. After all how long can you keep on comparing females with Chand, Chandni, Gulab, Phool? And imagine making the lovers( if they can be called that) do a tu tu main . He says ? aa aa idhar tu aa aa? and she retorts ?ja ja arre tu ja ja?. It looked more like a slanging match to me.
Chaar Baar Marenge
I am fully stumped here, I am completely confused now. I mean what is this, is this a song or I don?t know im too afraid to even wonder. This song left me speechless by its sheer diversity. I mean it starts off with ?Ek Ek Ek Do Do Do Tin Tin Tin Chaar Chaar Chaar?, so I thought it must be a nursery rhyme for kids. And some time later into the song I hear some sounds like ?Ooompah, Oompah, Naw, Naw? so I thought that this must be a new form of African music, but then all of a sudden I hear the couple declaring their love saying ?arre pani puri, arre bhel puri?. Imagine combining nursery rhymes with afro beats with bhel hop. Seriously Bappi da should have been given the Grammy Lifetime Achievment award.
Eh Oh Aah
Now this code is one more sample of Bappi Da?s originality. See the song starts off like this ?Eh Oh Aah, Aah Oh Aaha?. Sounds like some martial arts stuff. Must be a new form of music called KungfuKarJudo, don?t ask me what that means. We mere mortals can never understand the high spiritual thoughts of Bappi Da. But then I am bought back to earth, by ?Zara Mudke Mile Aankhe Aaya Hoon Mein Tere Liye?. Oh how simple and sweet the hero is telling the heroine to turn around and look at him since he had come. But he confused listeners by starting off with that KungfuKarJudo beat, so intricate na.
Pyaar Kiya Hai Pyaar Karenge
This song was composed by Bappi da, when every one accused him of trash songs. So he declared what the hell, I can compose a standard Hindi song. See so far I have copied Western tunes, animal sounds, orgasmic sounds and even martial art tunes, now I am going to make a song with Hindi movie titles. So I think there is some long forgotten movie called Pyaar Kiya Hai Pyaar Karenge, right arre ab duniya ki aisi ki taisi, and yes there is a very old movie of Dilip Saab?s Dil Diya Dard Liya. Voila song to ban gaya ?Pyaar Kiya Hai, Pyaar Karenge,Duniya ki Aisi Ki Taisi, Dil Diya Dard Liya?. Well after listening to this most original song, I decided not to venture further. Doing so would bring about an existential angst in me.
Gutur Gutur
After tinkering around with Totas and Mainas, Bappi da decided to train his guns on the poor innocent Kabutars. Come on Raam Laxman could only tell his Kabutar to ja ja and deliver a pehli pyaar ki pehli chitti. Bappi da has gone one step further, he has actually captured pigeon sounds by making the chorus go ?Gutur, Gutur?. And then some skimpily clad female says ?Chad Gaya Upar Re, Atariya Pe Lotan Kabutar Re?. Whats the connection between a Kabutar and an Atariya. Fools don?t u know, it is to do with release of pigeons at a place called Attari which is on the Wagah border. Wagah border, pigeons, Indo Pak peace, wow how ingenious of you Bappi Da.
I can now understand your lament about the lack of creativity in today?s songs. After all who can put hidden clues like you do in your songs.
Well so many songs were there and so many clues yet to be decoded in the Da Bappi Code, but I promised my family to come back safe and sound, and If I further try to decode this, I am sure going to be afflicted by the curse of Bappi Da. So I place whatever I know of the Da Bappi Code on Mouthshut and the rest of the code I leave it to my friends out there on MS who maybe don?t have a family to support and are daring enough to decode the rest of it.
My friends please do leave your comments with additional insights on the Da Bappi Code. Solving this code could answer one of the greatest mysteries of all time- How did Bappi Lahiri become one of the top music composers of the 80s??.
Whenever I write a review on songs, I take care to give the name of the movie. But the Da Bappi Code was beyond my comprehension so I have left out the names of the movies also.
