The joy of watching your grandchild take on your passion even before hitting adulthood is Bappi Lahiri’s to enjoy as Rego B turns musician at 12
Swastik Bansal aka Rego B, 12, has been training in music for two years and enjoys Western classical music as much as pop. Pics/Shadab Khan
The resemblance is uncanny, despite the obvious logic about shared genes. Swastik Bansal, aka Rego B, is the 12-year-old grandson of music composer and disco icon Bappi Lahiri, 68. Baby-faced and bathed in bling, Rego shrugs, it’s a reaction he is used to. “My grandfather is my greatest inspiration. I love Bruno Mars, but I love my granddad more,” he tells us during a meeting at their Juhu residence.
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Bappi da as he is lovingly known in the industry, has been suffering a bout of ill health. He is wheeled into the living area of the bungalow by staff. His mobility has taken a beating due to his impending knee replacement surgery, daughter Rema says. “But his energy is intact. After all, he has been a workaholic all his life.” It was in April this year that he contracted COVID-19 and was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital. Incidentally, he was the only one in the family to get infected. It’s been a slow recovery since. During the pandemic, however, the composer continued with collaborations over video call. “I’d call the last two years the worst of my life. They pulled me down like no other illness,” laments Lahiri. But, the ill health has hardly dented his appearance. The seven gold chains around his neck (we counted), a few rings and a snazzy shawl look as glamorous as they always have. And, now, there is someone else in the family who enjoys bling just as much.
It’s like granddad like grandson with Bappi Lahiri and Swastik Bansal, who love gold and music
On October 7, this year, music label Saregama launched Rego in a racy rap number titled Bachcha Party, composed by Shameer Tandon and choreographed by Remo D’souza. In two months, the song saw four million views on YouTube. The track is part of an album comprising six songs. “I am really proud that he is starting off his career this early,” gushes Lahiri. “This is the fourth generation of the family to get into music; my daughter first cut her album, Little Star in 1987 and she debuted with a Platinum Disc. Now, her son is launching his album.” Although he’s a doting grandfather, Lahiri also happens to be his biggest critic. “If I’m going off tune, he’s the first to point out. And he always makes sure he tells me where I need to improve.” The family is quick to point out that there has been no shred of “nepotism” in Rego making the cut. “He’s a student of music and was picked up on merit. There was an audition process and it’s only after he was selected that the organisers found out that Swastik is Bappi Lahiri’s grandson,” says Rema. The eager mother agrees that the two musicians share similarities. “He’s calm and composed, just like dad. I’m hyper and short tempered. It’s almost as if that personality trait has skipped a generation,” she laughs.
Bappi Lahiri
Music is a unifying, palpable life force in the family. Lahiri’s parents Aparesh and Bansari Lahiri were well-known singers in Kolkata. His mother shared a warm relationship with late singer Kishore Kumar’s family. “I, too, was extremely close to Kishore da and after he passed away, I felt unmoored. It was like losing an anchor in the industry, but I soldiered on,” he remembers.
Incidentally, this is Lahiri’s 50th year in the industry; he was 20 when he composed music for his first film, a Bengali production titled Dadu (1969).
Swastik Bansal
Until the pandemic, he was actively touring and creating music. “I realised the enduring popularity of the songs Disco Dancer and Jimmy Jimmy aaja aaja in Tajikistan when I visited the country a few years ago. They refused to let me step off the stage.” Lahiri, who is a fan of Michael Jackson, wants his grandson to be an all-round performer like the late American popstar. He too is as much a showman as he’s a musician. But he doesn’t think much of it. “Humility and talent matter. I’m often asked what I feel about the music that’s being produced today, but I’ve never criticised it because there’s an audience for every kind of music and I’m nobody to judge.”
Rego hopes to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps. “Beneath all the glitter, Dadu is just a simple man who loves music.”
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