Bappi Lahiri gives Vidya Balan company in this ‘dirty picture’

September 6, 2011 - 3:03 AM IST

While the world is talking about Vidya Balan's curves in Balaji's The Dirty Picture, one man who is overtly pleased with the first trailer of the film is Bappi Lahiri. After years has a song rendered by him, been placed so prominently in the film's opening communication.

Bappi Lahiri gives Vidya Balan company in this ‘dirty picture’

"If you listen carefully to the music that plays in the background of the trailer of The Dirty Picture, it is 'Ooh Laa La....' sung by Bappida. When the producers could have actually roped in any contemporary singer, composer Vishal (of Vishal-Shekhar) and director Milan Luthria put their foot down on incorporating Bappida. Their logic was that for a film set in the 80s, it would have been unfair to rope in anyone else but him. The composer-singer hasn't thanked the duo enough", says an industry source.

This isn't the first time that Bappi has sung for Milan Luthria. Half a decade ago for his John Abraham-Nana Patekar starrer Taxi No. 9211, Bappi had rendered 'Mumbai Nagariya'.

"Yes, we do have a history and it is now continuing with The Dirty Picture", smiles Milan, "It wasn't planned this way though. At the last moment Vishal-Shekhar and I thought of Bappida and requested him to sing 'Ooh Laa La....' for us. This one has a very South setting, which goes back into the Tohfa, Maqsad, Himmatwala days where a hero would woo his leading lady with 'matkas', fruits and other props in the background. We were so enthralled to see him in the studio and record the song with so much energy."

There was more fun in store though once Naseeruddin Shah and Vidya Balan came together for the picturisation of the song. As this was two decades after his 'Oye Oye' jig in Tridev that Naseer was returning in a dancing 'avtar', he was pleasantly surprised when told that he would be lip synching to Bappi Lahiri's voice.

"There is a joke between Naseer and I where he keeps asking me whether anyone of us could have ever imagined him dancing to a song like 'Ooh Laa La....' and that too in Bappi's voice in none less than a traditional Ramoji Rao studio setting", laughs Milan. "And with Vidya in tow, he has been in a dream world since. Now my dream is to get the three of them together on a single stage. Perhaps I will manage that at the film's music launch in October," he adds.

Vidya flanked by Naseer and Bappi? That would certainly make for one not-such-a-dirty picture!