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Career O. P. Nayyar ( "O.P." ) started his career as a movie music composer by composing the background score for the movie Kaneez (1949). Aasmaan (1952), produced by Dalsukh M.Pancholi was O.P.Nayyar's first film as independent music director, after which he composed music for Chham Chhama Chham (1952) and Baaz (1953) but all these movies couldn't make any impact on viewers. He started receiving increasing public recognition from his compositions for Guru Dutt's Aar Paar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), C.I.D. (1956), and Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1958). O.P. went on to notch up even higher distinction through his compositions for Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon and Mere Sanam. The former movie included his enormously popular song, Bandaa Parwar, Thaamlo Jigar, while the latter included Jaayiye Aap Kahaan Jaayenge and Pukaarataa Chalaa Hoon Main. Some months later, his scores for the movie, Kashmir Ki Kali, once again gained high popularity. O.P. was known to have a stubborn individuality, and traits of aloofness and imperiousness. However, he was always generous with struggling newcomers and artists who had been marginalized in the movie industry. The press was always deferential to him, and frequently referred to him as a "rebel" composer. Many columnists too labeled him as a maverick. Judging from his combative performance in various TV talk shows later on, O.P. seemed to enjoy those epithets. During the 1950s, the state-controlled All India Radio found O.P. too "trendy", and put for quite some time a ban on broadcasting most of his famous tunes[citation needed]. He seemed to have remained undaunted by this highhanded government order, and went on to create more, similar tunes, and most of them continued to receive national popularity. The far-away Radio Ceylon, (which later transformed into Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation), was at that time the only source from which O.P.'s new hits could be heard. Soon the English language press began referring to him with the honorific, "maestro", though Opee was still very young then. Artists O.P. worked extensively with Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, and Mohammed Rafi, and was instrumental in building their careers. Some Bollywood observers maintained that Asha Bhosle was his find and that he groomed her specially for his tunes. Many of his compositions which Asha sang are memorable and have a contemporary flair. O.P. never worked with Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen. After a breakup with Mohammed Rafi, Opee started to work with Mahendra Kapoor, an upcoming male singer. He also worked in the movie, Sambandh, with Mukesh, who was the favorite playback singer of Raj Kapoor. Based on one of Rabindranath Tagore's Bengali compositions, O.P. composed the song, Chal Akelaa, Chal Akelaa, sung by Mukesh. The same movie also included a memorable baritone rendering by Hemant Kumar, who was both a top-notch singer and a renowned Bollywood composer in his own right. Like many other movies for which Opee provided scores, Sambandh is remembered mostly because of its music. Mahendra Kapoor sang O.P.'s compositions, displaying much depth of feelings, and provided cadence and rhythm to O.P.'s style. His rendering of the song for Dharmendra, Badal Jaaye Agar Maali, Chaman Hotaa Nahi Khaali in Bahaaren Phir Bhi Aayengi was an instant hit. O.P. recognized very early in the career of Kishore Kumar his talent as a singer. Both movies, Baap Re Baap and Raagini contain many Kishore Kumar hits in the inimitable O.P. style. Regrettably, a cordial relationship between Opee and Kishore Kumar did not endure. O.P. did produce great hits with Shamshad Begum, notably "Kajra Mohabbatwala" even when she was not in demand. In the black-and-white movie era, Madhubala, who could provide a distinct, stylized performance for O.P.'s songs became O.P.'s favorite heroine. After her untimely death, heroines like Vyjayanthimala, Mala Sinha, Padmini, Asha Parekh, and Sharmila Tagore lip-synced several of the O.P.-Asha Bhosle numbers, and a large number of those songs gained high popularity. O.P. and Asha Bhosle parted ways in 1974, and that parting impacted O.P. for the rest of his life. After the breakup, he tried to work with several good singers, including Dilraj Kaur, Alka Yagnik, Krishna Kale, Vani Jayaram, and Kavita Krishanmurthy, but the magic in his work somehow seemed to have long gone. Almost until his last days, he would often refer to Asha as a singing sensation. Embittered Asha, on the other hand, practically ignored him after the breakup, and held the thought that she was beholden to no single composer. On the part of Asha, she went on to become a widely popular singer while working with many other composers, including, most notably, R D Burman, who gave her voice a special dimension. Majrooh Sultanpuri and Sahir Ludhianvi wrote some memorable lyrics for some of O.P.'s earlier compositions such as in Naya Daur. However, generally keeping clear of established song writers of his time, O.P. experimented with different upcoming lyricists like Jan Nisar Akhtar, Qamar Jalalabadi, Shamshul Huda Bihari, and Ahmed Wasi, who tried to write the lyrics that would match the sensuous tunes which O.P. would have in his mind. In the tradition of the great composers in India, O.P. was fond of the poetic flourish of the Urdu language for his more serious songs. The Rafi rendering, Dil ki Awaz Bhi Sun, Mere Fasane pe Na Jaa in Humsaya is one of Opee's haunting scores. O.P.'s wife, Saroj Mohini Nayyar, is an accomplished lyricist. She wrote the C H Atma song, Preetam Aan Milo, which launched O.P. into the big league of Bollywood composers. O.P. started the tradition of assigning to comedians full three-minute long songs, some of which proved even more popular than the songs sung by the heroes themselves. These supporting actors also received excellent reviews. Thus, comedian Om Prakash sang O.P.'s composition, Churi Bane Kanta Bane Oo My Son in Jaali Note. Comedian Johnny Walker sang O.P.'s popular song, Aye Dil Hai Mushkil Jeena Yahaan in C.I.D., and Main Bambaika Baaboo, Naam Meraa Anjaanaa in Naya Daur. There was later a movie titled Johnny Walker where Johnny Walker himself was the hero. Along with some other numbers in the last movie, Asha Bhosle/Gita Dutt's, Thandi Thandi Hawaa in it is memorable. Rhythm was O.P.'s specialty. His spirited composition, Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawaanonkaa featuring Dilip Kumar and Ajit in Naya Daur (1957) is an all-time favorite in India even after fifty years. Lata Mangeshkar once said that her most favorite O.P.-Asha Bhosle tune was Aao Huzoor Tumko Sitaaromein Le Chale in Kismet. The last Opee composition which Asha sang was Chain Se Humko Kabhi. It was meant to be included in the movie, Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye (1974), but it was dropped in the final version of the movie. However, it became an O.P. classic, and it won Asha a Filmfare Best Playback Singer Award. According to some critics, O.P. did not choose his movies well and wasted some of his superb tunes on B-grade actors like Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, and Babita. Though O.P. was still active in his musical career in the 1960s and '70s, to the regrets of his fans, O.P. did not compose music for the then superstar Rajesh Khanna or budding Amitabh Bachchan. O.P. also did not provide music for movies starring heroes of the day like Sanjeev Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, and Jitendra. Again, with the exception of Rekha, O.P. did not compose music for heroines like Hema Malini, Rakhee, or Zeenat Aman, who were all well known around the time he could have made a re-entry as a top composer. Another Bollywood maestro, S D Burman, was far more successful as a composer. Twenty years Opee's senior, the mild mannered Sachin Dev Burman composed exquisite tunes for a succession of Bollywood stars despite a long-lasting breakup with Lata Mangeshkar. With Asha Bhosle singing for Nargis his mellifluent composition, Koi Aayaa Dhadkan Kehti Hai in Lajwanti, S D Burman had all but declared that he was Asha's new mentor. O.P. held Burman in high esteem and was reported to have said that the Burman-Lata solo for Waheeda Rehman in Guide, Aaj Phir Jeeneki Tamannaa Hai, was the best ever song in Hindi for its sheer evocative beauty and matching lyrical lines. Apart from Hindi films, O.P. also composed music for a few South Indian movies, including Neerajanam in Telugu. Even though Neerajanam was a flop at box office, the music was such a rage that it created a record for the most sold album in south until over taken by A.R.Rahman's Roja. O.P. faded from the Bollywood scene in early 1970s, though he made a comeback attempt in the 1990s. Personal life During his retirement, O.P. stayed in touch with only a few select friends. Gajendra Singh and Ahmed Wasi were two among them. Gajendra Singh included Opee as a judge for his successful TV show, Sa Re Ga Ma Pa. Ahmed Wasi interviewed O.P. twice for Vividh Bharati and presented his life-sketch through six hour-long episodes collectively titled as Mujhe Yaad Sab Hai Zaraa Zaraa. For some years before his death, O.P. had been estranged from his family members to the extent that he had requested that they be not allowed to attend his funeral. Following the estrangement, he had moved out of his house at Marine Drive in Mumbai (Bombay), leaving his family behind, and begun to stay at a friend's place in the suburb of Virar. A month before his death, he had moved to yet another friend's place in Thane. O.P. died on 28 January 2007 through cardiac arrest. He is survived by his wife, three daughters, and a son. On his death, tributes came from many prominent Bollywood figures, including Lata Mangeshkar, B R Chopra, Shammi Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Mahesh Bhatt, Khayyam, Shakti Samanta, Sonu Nigam, Ravindra Jain, and Anu Malik. Partial filmography Aar
Paar Sourced from wikipedia and meant for information only. |
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