It's the time to disco!

D se hota hai Dance
I se hota hai item
S se hota hai singer
C se hota hai chorus
O se orchestra

Who can forget the charged Mithun Chakraborty, shimmering and sporting a headband, in Disco Dancer? Adding to the hysterical crowd were the dance steps, drumbeats and electrifying guitar.

It all began in the swinging 1970s and early 1980s, when disco fever plagued Hindi music lovers.

Music composer Bappi Lahiri's contribution to disco was enormous. The Disco Dancer soundtrack became a rage. Mithun's lips matched Vijay Benedict's voice in I am a disco dancer. The song's popularity remains unsurpassed. Since the movie revolved around a pop star, it boasted of many upbeat disco tracks. Bappi Lahiri and Usha Uthup's Oova ouva and Parvati Khan's Jimmy Jimmy were other big hits.

The Mithun-Bappi combo returned in another disco flick, Dance Dance. The title song and Alisha Chinai's rendition of Zooby zooby were super hits.

Even in the emotional drama Saheb, Bappi Lahiri added a roadside disco track, Pyaar bina chain kahan re. The composer sang it with S Janaki. Bappida attempted to create another Mithun in Govinda with I am a street dancer for his debut, Ilzaam.

Many singing talents like Vijay Benedict, Alisha Chinai and Usha Uthup emerged with disco. Even now, Usha Uthup sings Oova, Ramba ho (Armaan) and Hari om hari (Pyaara Dushman) at concerts.

Traces of Western influence, like Abba, Boney M and Blondie, were evident in these disco numbers. But the frivolously catchy lyrics in fresh voices had the listeners' attention.

R D Burman did not escape the lure of dance music either. His compositions for Nasir Husain films like Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai and Hum Kisise Kum Nahin may not classify as hardcore disco ditties. But they stressed more on orchestration than melody, a prime requisite of disco music.

Husain loved to showcase dance numbers with jazzy dance floors and dazzling dancers. So Rishi Kapoor sported shiny costumes during Bachna aye haseeno and Poocha na yaar (disco version). Silver was in again when he shakes a leg for Karz's Om shanti Om, another sensational chartbuster. 

Pancham's Janejaan o meri jaanejaan (Sanam Teri Kasam) in Asha Bhosle's saucy voice kept the trend of disco alive. Bappida then used Bhosle's vocal talents for the peppy Disco station (Hathkadi). For trivia buffs, both these songs were picturised on Reena Roy.

Parveen Babi used her seductive charm in the racy Raat baaki and Jawan janeman from Namak Halal. Thanks to funky beats and fancy setups, the songs qualified for the semi-disco category.

Filmmaker Feroz Khan's penchant for disco was hard to miss in the stylish Aap jaisa koi. Composed by Biddu, this evergreen track from Qurbani made him a star. Interestingly, that was also the name of a hit movie he scored the music for. The sibling duo of Nazia and Zoheb Hassan created magic in the vivacious Boom boom, Ooe ooe and the non-filmi album, Disco Deewane. Years later, Biddu surfaced from obscurity with the remixed version of the same. Of course, Boom boom climbed the popularity charts in no time.

Meanwhile FK carried on with his lavishly picturised disco numbers in Jaanbaaz (Pyar do pyaar lo), Yalgaar (Ho jaata hai kaise pyar), Prem Aggan (Prem aggan) and the recently released Janasheen (Teri chahat mein).

For his action flick, Vishwatma, Rajiv Rai picturised the bouncy Saat samundar on Divya Bharti and Sunny Deol in Nairobi's discotheque, Bubbles. But for Tu cheez badi hai mast (Mohra), he preferred to shoot in Mumbai's Filmalaya Studios.

At the dawn of the new millennium, disco fever had pretty much died down. Item numbers replaced disco dancing. Can you really blame music lovers for thumbing down Bappi Lahiri's You are my chicken fry (Rock Dancer) brand of disco dance?

God bless the musical trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. The spunky threesome revived the almost forgotten genre of music. Generation X more than lapped up the infectious energy and foot-tapping percussion of Koi kahe (Dil Chahta Hai), the zingy tunes of Tumhe aaj maine jo dekha (Kuch Naa Kaho) and the current sensation, It's the time to disco (Kal Ho Naa Ho).

Most of the earlier songs are back in the limelight, courtesy DJ remixes. While the current crop of teenagers identify with the rehashed versions, youngsters of the 1970s and 1980s swear by the original stuff.

At the end of the day, these songs hold a special place. Not for their melodic content. Not for their poetic richness. But for making the listener briefly enjoy the song's colourful ambience of misty smoke, glittering lights and dazzling dance floor.

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