Celebrated as Asia's "rhythm king," O.P. Nayyar was among the premier composers of Bollywood's golden age, enjoying a long and prolific collaboration with superstar vocalist Asha Bhosle that yielded countless classics of Indian film music. Born January 16, 1926, in Lahore in pre-partition India, Omkar Prasad Nayyar made his professional debut at age 11, playing piano on All-India Radio. In 1949, he relocated to Mumbai and soon landed his first film assignment, writing incidental music for Krishan Kewal's Kaneez. Nayyar made his debut as music director via Dalsukh Pancholi's Aasmaan. After a series of commercial flops, he considered quitting cinema to teach, but with Guru Dutt's 1954 film Aar Paar he scored his first box-office hit, beginning an extended collaboration with Dutt that later included Mr. and Mrs. 55 and the blockbuster C.I.D. Nayyar nevertheless enjoyed his greatest success in tandem with Bhosle, credited as his discovery. Free of conventional training and classical influence, he created for Bhosle a series of remarkably bold and contemporary songs notable for their upbeat, fiercely rhythmic approach.
Bhosle and Nayyar teamed
for close to 60 films in all, most notable among them a series of late-'50s
efforts including Nava Daur, Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Sone Ki Chidiya, and Howrah
Bridge. Their cumulative success not only launched Bhosle as a
rival to Bollywood melody queen Lata Mangeshkar(also her elder sister), but additionally
established Nayyar as
the highest-paid composer in Indian filmmaking. Their partnership nevertheless
ended bitterly in 1974, and while Nayyar went
on to work with singers including Mohammed Rafi and Mahendra Kapoor, he never experienced the same creative
success. Nayyar later
admitted the dissolution of their collaboration heralded the tipping point of
his career, and following 1994's Jai Bhavani he retired from film altogether,
although he remained in the public eye thanks to infrequent television
appearances. Nayyar died
January 28, 2007, less than two weeks past his 81st birthday.
O.P. Nayyar’s Projects :
·
Aasman (1952)
(First film as independent music director. One song was offered to Lata
Mangeshkar (which he denied), which she could not sing and may have been the
downfall of their relationship.)
·
Aar Paar (1954) (The
two songs,"Sun Sun Sun Zalima" & "Ja Ja Ja Bewafa" with
the same tune and another song "Babuji Dheere Chalna" became a big
hit and this album overall became a turning point of his career towards
success. Geeta Dutt had encouraged him to compose music for this Album.)
·
Mangu (1954)
(shared credits with music director Mohammed Shafi, who introduced Suman
Kalyanpur with her debut song.)
·
Mehbooba (1954)
(Shared credits with Music Director Roshan Lal, who composed songs with Lata
Mangeshkar for the same album.)
·
Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955)
("Pritam Aan Milo" was written by his wife Saroj Mohini Nayyar and
was remake of originally sung by C. H. Atma song for his non-filmy album with
unknown name)
·
Sab Se Bada
Rupaiyaa (1955)
(Shared credits with music director Nashad Ali of Free India First then Pakistan)
·
Shrimati - 420 (1956)
(Mukhda of "Yahan Hum Wahan Tum" Song was written by his wife Saroj
Mohini Nayyar)
·
Johny Walker (1957)
(When Film Director Ved Madan Delivered the Latest Cadillac at his house as he
had Demanded Jokingly, He Hesitantly Decided to Compose for this Album.)
·
Kabhi Andhera Kabhi
Ujala (1958)
·
Basant (1960)
(Bajewala, A Tribute Song to Indian Cinema, in which shares tribute with S. D.
Burman, Shankar JaiKishan and Naushad)
·
Hong Kong (1962)
·
Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1973)
("Chain Se Hum Ko Kabhi" was not used in the Film, but won 1974
Filmfare Award to Asha Bhosle as the Best Playback Singer)
Non-film albums
A postage
stamp, bearing his face, was released by India Post to
honour him on 3 May 2013.
More Information about O.P. Nayyar at : www.opnayyar.org
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