Daily Times

The great German philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche, once said,“Without music, life would be a mistake.” Music has become such an important part of our psyche and consciousness that it is difficult to imagine a life without it

Indian films have given us so many memorable and evergreen songs that some of the songs composed by old masters are still etched in our mind. All one has to do is to push the recall button to retrieve songs from our brain, our central processing unit, depending upon our state of emotions.

India has been lucky to have had many great maestros like Naushad, S.D. Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan and Madan Mohan that their soulful numbers still continue to haunt us. It was during the heydey of such great maestros that a young music director from Lahore— then a part of British India—, decided to try his luck in Bollywood. It was a daring decision as the young composer had to compete with some of the legends of the Hindi Cinema. He not only succeeded in competing with the giants but also carved out a niche for your brand of music.

Omkar Prasad Nayyar or O.P., as he was famously known, was born in Lahore on January 16, 2016. Largely because of not having any formal training in classical music, he was met with a string of failures and was almost ready to pack his bags when an unexpected opportunity came his way. He got a call from the great Guru Dutt to compose music for his film ‘Aar Paar.’ All the songs became a great hit and established OP as a music director.

It is said that Nayyar was imperious, arrogant and head strong, and the producers and singers had difficulty in getting along with him. Another aspect of his idiosyncrasy was that he never recorded a song with LataMangeshkar, the reigning queen of playback singing. It was unthinkable in those days for any music director to achieve acclaim without Lata lending her voice to his compositions. Yet, this maverick composer had the distinction of not once using her voice unlike other music directors of his time and continuing to give hits after hits.

Nayyar broke the tradition by giving immortal and timeless melodies with AshaBhosle (Lata’ sister), Shamshad Begum and GeetaDutt. For the male voice, he largely relied on the soulful and mellifluous voice of Mohd. Rafi.

It is said that Nayyar commanded 100,000 rupees per film when other great composers had to settle for a far lesser amount. Such was his reputation that after giving three consecutive hits for Guru Dutt, the producers had no other option but to agree to his demands because of his popularity. The public went crazy with his rustic and soulful melodies. Nayyar’s songs resonated with rhythmic beats of Punjabi folk songs. He combined folk and the modern songs together by using both traditional instruments like santoor, sitar, sarangi anddholak, and at the time using western instruments like piano, accordion, clarinet to give a perfect blend and harmony to his compositions. It is because of his unique compositions, all his songs have stood the test of time. In spite of his genius, two singers, Mohd.Rafi and AshaBhosle also contributed to his success.

His song “BabujiDheereChalna” from “Aar Paar” took the nation by storm. Even today, this song continues to remain popular. Another gem, “ThandiHawa Kali Ghata” belted by GeetaDutt was from Guru Dutt’s movie, “Mr. & Mrs. 55” became a big hit.

Another song, “Jara Hat Ke, JaraBachke, YehHai Bombay meriJaan” from “CID”, sung by the immortal Rafi and Asha, also catapulted him to becoming one of the most sought after music directors of Bollywood. This song, inspired by a western folk song ‘Oh My Darling Clementine,’ broke all musical charts, becoming a great hit in Radio Ceylon.

Nayyar’s lilting music, when sung by the immortal Rafi, made many heroes, like ShammiKapoor, successful. In fact, the legendary Kapoor admitted that he owed his success to Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan’s compositions, and to the voice of Rafi. Who can forget his great songs such as “Aap Yoon Hi Agar HumseMilteRahein”; “Yeh Deke DilJhooma”; “Yeh Chand Sa RoshanChehra”; and the soulful number “PukartaChalaHoon Mein” from Mere Sanam sung by the incomparable Rafi in the 1964 classic, “Kashmir Ki Kali”. Both Rafi and Asha have sung some memorable duets like “BahutShukriya” from “EkMusafirEkHasina” and “DeevanaHuaBadal” from “Kashmir Ki Kali”. The last Nayyar song performed by Bhosle was “Chain Se HumkoKabhi” This song earned him the 1958 Filmfare Best Music Director Award.

Who can forget the song “Pyar Par Bas ToNahinHaiMera”, penned by SahirLudhiyanvi, and sung by TalatMahmood from the movie “Sone Ki Chidya”?

Another of his favourite singer was Shamshad Begum. Some of her memorable numbers were “Kabhi Aar KabhiPaarLagaTeer-e-Nazar” from Aar Paar (1954), “BoojhMeraKyaNaam” from CID (1956).

It is said that Ustad Amir Khan once called him and asked him whether he was aware that all his songs in the film Phagun were based on RaagPilu. Upon which, he was taken by surprise as he had no formal training in Hindustani music.

Nayyar had his own moods and idiosyncrasies and was very difficult to get along. Once when Rafi came late for a recording, Nayyar got upset with him and told him that he would never use his voice for his future compositions. The music world was stunned to hear the news, as Rafi and Nayyar were inseparable and had given hits after hits. Moreover, Rafi was a simple person who had no enemies. It is a tragedy that the person responsible for his monumental success fell out with him. In one of his interviews, Nayyar admitted that Rafi had played a large part in his success. He also fell out with SahirLudhianvi, and later with AshaBhosle. Any person in his position would have been heartbroken and devastated, but he was made differently.

He also gave great numbers sung by MahendraKapoor, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh after his fallout with Rafi.

The music industry was changing in the late seventies, and soulful numbers had given way to dance numbers and other forms of music, which relied more on heavy metals. He, however, refused to compromise with his fees and further refused to compose music with changing times, which lead to his ultimate downfall.

His personal life was a tragedy. He left his wife and children and started living with a famous Bollywood singer. Unfortunately, this association also ended in separation. In spite of his personal tragedies and also being elbowed out from Bollywood, OP never gave up. He started practising homoeopathy and lived on his terms until his death on 28 January 2007. Surprisingly, on the advice of a Swami, he gave up on his material life and became a virtual recluse.

On his 10th death anniversary, let us salute this great music composer of all times. “BahutShukriyaBadiMeherbani; MeriZindagi Main HuzoorAapAaye” (Thanks a lot, it’s very gracious of you; That in my life, your honour, you have come).

The author is an independent columnist and political commentator.