Rego B on his grandfather Bappi Lahiri's legacy and new song 'Chand'. (Photos: Rego B/Instagram)Bappi Lahiri’s musical legacy continues through his 17-year-old grandson Swastikk Bansall, who performs under the stage name Rego B. Fresh off the release of his new single, “Chand”, Rego sat down with SCREEN to discuss his grandfather’s influence, the resurgence of his disco classics, and how Bappi Lahiri’s music found a global audience long before the age of social media.Speaking about Bappi Lahiri‘s songs that continue to resonate with people, Rego B said, “Granddad’s songs are universal, but his foot-tapping tunes that continue to resonate with younger audiences are disco songs like ‘Auva Auva Koi Yahan Nache’, ‘Ramba Ho Ho’ and ‘Jimmy Jimmy’. Those songs were very different, and granddad was way ahead of his time. He knew what would work even 20 years later, and they are still working today.”Shashwat Sachdev remixed Bappi Lahiri and Usha Uthup’s iconic disco track “Ramba Ho” for Aditya Dhar’s film Dhurandhar, headlined by Ranveer Singh. Rego admitted that he was surprised to see the cult song featured in the film. He said, “I was so surprised to see his song, Ramba Ho used in Dhurandhar, and how his song Koi Yahan Nache Nache was used in Prabhas’ The Raja Saab. This shows that his music is still appealing to the mass audience. It’s an honour to learn from him and his style of music. I feel so grateful that I have been brought up in this family, and I am lucky to be his grandson.”Rego B on Bappi Lahiri’s international reach and his meeting with Michael JacksonRego also offered insights into Bappi Lahiri’s association with international music stars and his influence beyond India. “Granddad worked with many superstars, including Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Akon. It shows how influential his music was. For an artist from India, especially at that time, to have international musicians approach him and ask him to make songs for them shows just how far his music had reached,” shared Rego.Also Read: Inside Bappi Lahiri’s 40-year-old house: 1,000 Ganesha idols, a gold chair, Kishore Kumar’s last photo and rare 100-Year-old instrumentsHe also recalled a story his mother had told him about Bappi Lahiri’s meeting with Michael Jackson in 1996. Rego said, “When Michael Jackson came to Bombay, my grandfather went to meet him. My mother tells me this story. She was also very young at the time and started crying when she saw Michael Jackson because who wouldn’t? He is the King of Pop, he’s the G.O.A.T. Even he told my granddad, ‘I love your song ‘Jimmy Jimmy’. It’s a beautiful song.’ So, Michael Jackson saying that to my granddad in the ’90s showed how far his music had reached. Coming from a small village in West Bengal to making a name for himself in Bollywood and then becoming known worldwide shows what he achieved and how far his music travelled. Today, we have social media to showcase our music, but back then there was nothing like that. Despite that, his music travelled overseas, and that shows its reach. It’s a huge thing.”Rego also shared an interesting anecdote about one of Bappi Lahiri’s most iconic tracks, “Jimmy Jimmy”. He said, “It was one of the most played songs in Russia. When the President and the Prime Minister come, the marching bands play ‘Jimmy Jimmy’, and they still play it. It’s such an honour to see that. You are like, ‘Oh my God!’ It’s absolutely unreal.”Story continues below this adRego B on his new single ChandTalking about his latest release “Chand”, Rego expressed gratitude for the love coming his way and the opportunity to release his first independent single. “I am really grateful that ‘Chand’ is finally out for everyone to hear. It’s really special to me because it was released on my 17th birthday (September 21), during the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities. So, it truly means a lot to me as an artiste. I am grateful to my parents and my granddad, who have mentored me and raised me in that safe space of music, and helped me reach a point where I could release my own independent single. When you hear it, it gives you a homely feeling. It has that ’90s and 2000s touch to it, with the nuances in the lyrics and the singing style.”Watch the song Chand below:Sharing his excitement over the response to the song, he said, “I can feel the energy around it, and I got to know that ‘Chand’ has organically made it to New Music Friday Pakistan on Spotify. It has also made it to New Music Hindi. It’s really resonating with people. The word ‘Chand’ is also so universal because you can connect it with anyone: your girlfriend, your husband, your wife or your family. That’s one of the reasons we chose the name ‘Chand’, because not many songs are named that. There’s a special feeling behind it. I’m grateful that people are giving it so much love and are also liking the video, which is very different. My friend Adrija is my co-actor in the video, and she is an impeccable dancer and actor. So, it all has a very homely feeling.”