In his trademark crisp white shirt and pants, paired with white shoes, a black hat, and a blazer, OP Nayyar cut a dashing figure in Bollywood. His life was as flamboyant and rhythmic as the music he created. Omkar Prasad Nayyar, or OP as he was called, had no formal classical training. He broke every rule in the book, fusing folk, Punjabi beats, and Western music. His music was scandalous and thrilling, to the extent that his songs were banned by the All India Radio for being too trendy. OP’s journey from Lahore to Bombay, and his rise to become one of Bollywood’s most talented, sought-after, and expensive directors had more twists and turns than any pot-boiler.
His music has not just survived but thrives in the reel world of social media. Songs like ‘Zara Haule Haule Chalo Mere Saajna’ from the 1966 movie Sawan Ki Ghata, ‘Maang Ke Saath Tumhara’ (Naya Daur, 1957), ‘Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji’ (Mr. & Mrs. 55, 1955), ‘Yeh Chand Sa Raushan Chehra’ (Kashmir Ki Kali, 1964), ‘Jaaiye Aap Kahan Jayenge’ (Mere Sanam, 1965) — all these rhythmic melodies with foot-tapping compositions keep getting ‘discovered’ by the reel-generation every few years.
OP wasn’t the easiest person to work with, and most of his hits were collaborations with Geeta Dutta, Mohammed Rafi, and Asha Bhosle, in a ‘ghoda-gaadi’, ‘tanga’, or ‘horse beat’ style. It had become a staple in Bollywood music from the 1950s-1970s, and although it was in vogue for several years before OP broke into the scene, it came to be recognised as his signature OP style.
“Nayyar sahib was always impeccably dressed, and it reflected in his music. You couldn’t spot a single wrinkle on his shirt. His rhythms were just as crisp. His personality and his music fused into one,” playback singer Dilraj Kaur, who sang his hit ‘Sau Saal Jiyo Tum Jaan Meri’ (Heera Moti, 1979), told The Times of India in an interview.
While Nayyar’s tunes were fresh like a breeze and appealed to the young audience, no less than 20 of his songs were dropped from various films, with the state broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) also banning some of his famous tunes during the 1950s for the music being too trendy and westernised. Similarly, the lyrics and the melodies were judged as too daring and a bad influence on the young generation. For a time, Radio Ceylon, which later became Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, was the only place where fans could tune into his music.
There was a time when OP was one of the highest-paid music directors who could command as much as Rs 1 lakh for a film.
Also read: O.P. Nayyar, the untrained musical genius who was more than just a hit machine
Professional, personal relations
Nayyar was known to have a short temper and a cocky style of speaking. He was a stickler for punctuality, which reportedly led to a tiff with Mohammed Rafi once and did not work with him for several years.
In Sujata Dev’s ‘Mohammed Rafi: Voice of a Nation,’ a former announcer at AIR, Krishan Sharma has given an account of the discord between them that happened during the recording of songs for Sawan Ki Ghata (1966). That led to Nayyar replacing Rafi with Mahendra Kapoor.
“Nayyar was a very punctual man. So was Rafi. Nayyar used to close the door of the recording studio at 9:10 am, and nobody was allowed to enter after that. Rafi was usually very punctual and arrived before time, but that particular day he was late by an hour. The musicians were all set and waiting. Rafi walked in apologising and saying he had got stuck at Shankar-Jaikishan’s recording,” Dev writes in Rafi. Nayyar reportedly took offence and said, “You have time for Shankar-Jaikishan and not for OP Nayyar? OP Nayyar will not have time for Rafi.” The recording was cancelled, and the accountant was asked to settle the bills, Sharma said.
They patched up years later when Rafi went to Nayyar’s residence, writes Dev in Mohammed Rafi: Voice of a Nation. The composer was touched. “By coming here today you have proved that you are much superior to OP Nayyar. You could overcome your ego, I could not,” he said.
The bonding between the two legends and the addition of the third dimension of the trio Asha Bhosle, with whom Nayyar had a long and special relationship, professionally and personally, culminated in numerous evergreen melodies.
Also read: OP Nayyar’s music turned Howrah Bridge from a movie to a whole mood
Musical ties with Asha Bhosle
Nayyar’s career rose with Geeta Dutt introducing him to her husband Guru Dutt with Aasmaan in 1952. Geeta Dutt was instrumental in establishing the initial success of Nayyar, having sung many popular songs for him, one being ‘Jaane Kahan Mera Jigar Gaya Ji’ with Johnny Walker. As Asha Bhosle joined Nayyar, with whom Nayyar had the most number of hits and is known to be a key in shaping Bhosle’s music career, Geeta Dutt was eventually phased out, which Nayyar ‘regretted’ later because of his ‘emotional involvement’ with Asha Bhosle.
After his 20-year professional relationship with Asha Bhosle ended in 1972, Nayyar, in a conversation with music connoisseur Siraj Khan, had said, “As a woman, she [Asha] was superb and very good to me. She was a good mother to her children. She transformed from an innocent bholi young lady to an extremely shrewd and clever woman right in front of my eyes, but I don’t blame her for that. As a singer, she sang all my songs with her heart and soul. However, Geeta Dutt’s voice modulation was far, far better. It remains one of my greatest regrets that I phased out Geeta due to my emotional involvement with Asha, when it was Geeta who had introduced me to Guru Dutt. That’s when my career really took off.”
The last song she sang for OP Nayyar was ‘Chain Se Humko Kabhi’ for Pran Jaye Per Vachan Na Jaye (1974) starring Rekha. But it was never featured in the film, though Bhosle won the Filmfare award for best playback singer for it the following year.
“It was recorded during an hour in which both Asha and OP knew that they were through,” recalls music historian Raju Bharatan in his book, Asha Bhosle: A Musical Biography. Bhosle had “no motivation” to receive the award, and according to Bharatan, Nayyar told the Filmfare editor that as the composer, he was open to accepting the award on “behalf of his best lady singer ever”. On his way home, Nayyar tossed the award out of his car, symbolising the end of their relationship.
The end of their 15-year relationship marked the decline of Nayyar’s career as well. He passed away on 28 January 2007, estranged from his family.