One of my most favourite MDs. Here is a very recent article that I copy/pasted from RMIM. (If it is already posted , sorry about that)
Look out for "My Favourite OPNayyar Songs" tomorrow morning EST on HF Radio (If I get a DJ spot)

I always thought Nayyar would be South Indian, Looks like OPN is punjabi???


King of Melody

The Pioneer
Sunday, October 16, 2005

His compositions once upon a time had people tapping
their feet and clapping their hands. Youngsters went into
ecstasy and producers queued up outside his door because
Omkar Prakash Nayyar as music director meant box-office
success. He was Bollywood's king of melody for over a
decade, dominating the scene with his original tune
structures and trademark hoof beat taal. The first
composer to discover the latent sensuality in Asha
Bhonsle's voice, he lived a controversial life,
romantically linked to many. Handsome, flamboyant,
irreverent, the superstar of yesteryear's music now leads
a lonely existence in a one-room tenement in Thane near
Mumbai. Currently reclusive and reticent, OP Nayyar comes
alive in this journey down memory lane with DARPAN
Editor-in-Chief CHANDAN MITRA

I'm surprised to see a legend of our times living here in
this one-room flat in a suburb in splendid isolation. Do
you shun the limelight or does the limelight shun you
now?

First, let me tell you I am very happy here. I have
enjoyed life to the lees. I got more of the limelight
than anybody could aspire for. People crowded around me,
producers queued up outside my home. I ate and drank to
my heart's content. I had some of the most beautiful and
vivacious women in this country for company.

Always conscious of money, I never undersold myself,
refusing to compose even for top banners if the price
wasn't right.I drove the best cars, wore the most
fashionable clothes of my time. I still have a big flat
in Churchgate, but as a result of a family dispute I
opted out. So, living in virtual anonymity here in Thane
is my own choice. I don't interfere with others' lives
and I like to be left alone...

But isn't it frightfully lonely here?

You might think so, I don't. I have a set routine. Every
afternoon I have two bottles of chilled beer with boiled
eggs. Then I rest for a while. In the evening I watch a
video or maybe some TV. I have only one meal a day and
that's dinner. Till recently I used to practise
homeopathy.

You see those shelves full of homeopathy vials? Those
were for local people who used to come in large numbers.
But then I got fed up with people calling on me and
stopped seeing patients. Every year, I spend a month in
the summer at a hotel in Juhu. I don't have too many
friends, but the ones I have are very considerate. They
insist on giving me a change of scenario and take me
there. That's been the pattern for some years now.

You drink, I see a packet of State Express 555 cigarettes
next to the homeopathic medicine bottles, and yet keep
yourself fit. What's your secret?

I am content. I used to smoke a lot, but nowadays I have
just two - one in the morning after bed-tea and the other
after dinner. I have also stopped drinking whisky. I used
to love it. Let me tell you, having tasted the best, I
think Black Label is the finest of the lot, even better
than Royal Salute. Although I don't practise any more, I
still study homeopathy and take some pills. My medicine,
like my music, is purely self-taught.

Self-taught? Surely you must have trained to be a
musician and a music director...

People don't believe me when I say this but the fact is I
don't know the ABCD of music! It was all a gift from God
that I composed so effortlessly and people liked the
music I made. I didn't set out to be a music director,
just drifted into it.

But you started your career as a singer, didn't you?

Yes, but I never thought of it as a career. People told
me I had a good voice because I used to sing at local
functions in the city of my birth, Lahore. I was born in
1926 and when I was a teenager, All India Radio set up
its Lahore studio. I was invited to sing there on a few
occasions. I never liked studies and spent my pocket
money, even college fees, buying records. We were paid Rs
30 per programme by AIR and I did about four programmes a
month. The money was quite good those days. Besides, I
was always headstrong. When my family left for India at
the time of Partition, I refused to go.

We had a Muslim neighbour who sheltered me when the riots
began. But one day, a mob arrived at his house and
demanded that the Hindu boy he was hiding in the house be
handed over. My kind protector organised a tonga and
smuggled me out of the back gate. I reached the refugee
camp somehow and then made my way to Amritsar in November
1947, a good three months after Partition. Since I had no
other skills and was too proud to ask my family for
money, I got myself a job as a music teacher in Patiala.

You taught music although you say you don't know any. How
then did you make it as a composer in Mumbai?

Well, I knew the basics, just about. Anyway, I wasn't
interested in teaching music. So I left for Shivpuri,
where my sister used to stay, after a few months. I
didn't like that place either. There were too many snakes
in Shivpuri and I hate reptiles. So, I wound my way back
to Amritsar. I had a friend called SN Bhatia of the
famous Dewanchand Pharmacy who knew many film industry
bigwigs. One day he called me to Delhi because he
believed I would make a good composer.

At Regal cinema in Connaught Place I met the king of the
Punjab film industry, Dalsukhram Pancholi. He offered me
Rs 500 to score the music for his next film. I said that
was too little. Eventually we settled on Rs 600. I went
to Mumbai and stayed at Rex Hotel in Colaba (which had no
rooms, only cabins) for a few months and composed music
for Pancholi's Aasmaan, directed by PL Santoshi, Raj
Kumar Santoshi's father. Then I did another film, Chham,
chhama, chham, the music from which was quite a hit.

How did your big breaks start coming?

After Chham, chhama, chham, Guru Dutt came to my hotel
and asked me to be music director of his under-production
Baazi. He offered me Rs 12,000 which was a very big
amount those days. I was so thrilled I promptly went out
and bought two bottles of the finest champagne money
could buy. As you know, the Baazi songs, especially those
sung by Geeta Dutt, became massive hits. But I fought
with Guru Dutt immediately afterwards. He did not give me
the full amount. He owed me Rs 3,000 in spite of the film
making money.

I would not give up although he insisted he was broke.
So, I approached KK Kapoor, the film's distributor. We
drove to Guru Dutt's house in his sleek convertible.
Kapoor kept me waiting in the car and went upstairs for
what seemed an eternity. Then he came back with Guru
Dutt. He had agreed to pay off the rest at Rs 1,000 a
month. But there was a rider. I would have to compose for
his next film too! That's how I became music director for
Aar Paar, another superhit.

You were engaged by the biggest banners of the time like
Subodh Mukerji, BR Chopra, Shakti Samanta. You composed
for classics like Ek Musafir Ek Hasina, Naya Daur,
Kashmir ki Kali. But later you lost these banners one by
one. Why?

I told you I was always a very headstrong person. When I
was hired by S Mukerji Productions for Ek Musafir Ek
Hasina, I told them my terms included not just the money;
I also wanted a guarantee that there would be no
interference. I said this because the film's director,
Raj Khosla, who was a big name, fancied himself as a
composer and tried to impose his tunes on the music
director. Raj Khosla put up his hands, gesturing
surrender.

But one day, just before the recording, he came up with
his own composition. I walked out, telling Mukerji that
he should hire Khosla as the music director. That
evening, Mukerji came over to my house with a bottle of
Black Label to sort matters out. Nobody interfered after
that. There is no problem if people want to compose. For
example, lyricist Pradeep always did so. But I would
never tolerate somebody passing off his tunes as mine.

I had problems with BR Chopra too. He hired me for Naya
Daur, but because of our common Punjab background, I knew
he nursed grievances against me. I was never happy with
him and did not work with his banner despite the big
success of Naya Daur.

Now to the big question: Why did you never use Lata
Mangeshkar? It could not have been only on account of
Asha Bhonsle, could it?

I am the only successful music director to have never had
a song sung by Lata. People always wonder why. It began
ages back, when my mentor, Pancholi, advised me to take
Geeta Roy (even before she married Guru Dutt) instead of
Lata. I listened to his advice, all the more because I
thought Geeta's voice had real character, she was
original.

After I recorded Elo main haari piya with Geeta for
Baazi, the biggest film critic of that period, Raju
Bharatan, told me, "OP you will rise very high in life."
Geeta and I made a good team. Later, I came to the
conclusion that Asha was a better singer.

I can't believe the reason for never using Lata was that
simple. Aren't you hiding something?

I needed inspiration to compose. As I told you, I am not
a trained musician. My musical inspiration always came
from women. I got that from the women singers I engaged.
They were attracted to me too. You must remember I was a
very handsome man in my youth, tall, fair with typical
Punjabi good looks. I remember Geeta Roy's father once
asked me if I used rouge on my cheeks. I was taken aback
by the question. He said Geeta thought so because my
cheeks were so red!

Are you suggesting you only took on women singers who
sparked something in you romantically?

Yes, something like that. I enjoyed the competition they
had trying to please me. I can tell you today, of the
lot, Shamshad Begum had the best voice. It was what you
could truly call khanakti aawaz. She was right in
believing I downplayed her in order to promote Asha.

Even towards the later part of your career, you gave the
choice lines to Asha in the duet with Shamshad, Kajra
Mohabbatwala from Kismat. Was it conscious?

I must admit it was. I have always been driven by women
in my compositions. Believe me, women are a man's
greatest inspiration and also the greatest weakness.
Coming back to the Lata-Asha issue, I must tell you Asha
was a very possessive woman. She also had certain vocal
abilities that Lata or even Shamshad never had. I gave my
best composing for Asha and she gave her all singing for
me.

Which is your personal favourite among all the songs Asha
and you made together?

I can't say, there are so many of them...

I know, but try and select a few...

Actually it is Chayen se humko kabhi from Pran Jaye.

I am happy to hear that. It's my favourite Asha-OP number
too. But she never accepted the award for it. Why?

She got the Filmfare for the best female singer that
year. But by the time it was announced, our relationship
had collapsed. She was very bitter about the whole thing.
So she refused to turn up to receive the honour...

Nayyar Saab, you had problems with male singers too. Even
Mohammad Rafi, who was known to be hassle-free, stopped
singing for you and you had to take on Mahendra Kapoor in
the later years. Why did you have such fights?

That is not totally correct. Rafi was a thorough
gentleman, a mild-mannered person and very professional.
I had no serious problems with him. We had a tiff once
because I insisted on punctuality. He came two hours late
for a recording.

He was very apologetic saying he got delayed by repeated
re-takes at a Shankar-Jaikishan recording. But I was
furious by then. I had waited just to make a point. So,
as soon as he entered the recording studio, I called
pack-up after putting in a bill of Rs 12,000 as my fees
for the day. He was very upset with me. But then, I was
not in the habit of waiting for anybody; even if Asha
came in 10 minutes late I used to pull her up in front of
everybody. But Rafi and I sorted things out later. He
sang for me again in Ek baar muskura do. Rafi, I tell
you, was a saintly man, I liked him very much.

Do you listen to today's film music? Who do you like
among the current crop of female singers?

Honestly, I now find it funny that there are songs at all
in our films! When I look back, I think it was all rather
amusing and I sometimes can't believe we composed so
seriously for contrived song sequences. Sometimes I do
listen to new songs. But I find today's music and lyrics
have no dum, they are all very artificial. We had such
fine lyricists back in those days.

Of course, I was choosy too, never worked with some of
the star lyricists of my time. My preference was for
Shakeel Badayuni, Rajinder Krishan and, above all,
Shamsul Huda (SH) Bihari. Of the new crop of singers,
Alka (Yagnik) and Kavita (Krishnamurthy) are talented.
They also come from good, educated backgrounds, not like
singers in our time.

You held your ground against Shankar-Jaikishan, the most
popular music director duo of the times with the biggest
banners in their pocket. What was the competition like?

There was no competition, I never believed in that. But
once I met Shankar at a druggists' store. He stopped me
to say, "Hum ghabratey hain toh sirf tujhse." I told him,
"I respect you Sir, you are my senior." That was it.
There is never any creative competition in this industry;
only money talks. So, there are no friends, no enemies,
only interests.

But it must be flattering that just a few years ago
Tushar Bhatia composed songs for Andaz Apna Apna that
were clones of OP Nayyar's music. Did he meet you to seek
out inspiration?

No, I never met him. As I told you, I don't like meeting
people these days. But yes, I heard the songs; they were
good. People used to talk about the Nayyar gharana in
Hindi film music.

Since you were quite a ladies' man in your youth, you
must have had some favourites among the actresses. Who
were they?

Madhubala, of course. Although I must tell you that
Shama, who never made a big name for herself, was better
than Madhubala. But Madhubala was such a fan of mine she
told producers she would charge Rs 15,000 less for a film
which had music composed by me. We worked together in
many movies - Howrah Bridge, Jaali Note, Mr and Mrs 55,
Phagun, Do Ustad.

I had a rehearsal room on the third floor of Famous
Studios in Mahalaxmi. At lunchtime, she would sneak up to
meet me and we often shared lunch. She respected me a
lot. Madhubala was not only stunningly beautiful but also
a very sensitive, warm person. No wonder Kishore Kumar
was besotted with her, so much so that he converted,
became Khalid Khan, just to marry her.

How did you stumble across the idea of using the hoof
beat of horses as your standard taal? Was it original?

Basically, it is the beat of Punjab. People don't
remember any more, but the melodies composed by our early
greats - music directors like Ghulam Haider, RC Boral and
Pankaj Mullick - were also very earthy and rhythmic. If
you have heard Pankaj Mullick's Chale pawan ki chaal, you
will recall that song too had hoof beats as the
background music. I used to like that song a lot. In that
sense, my horse trot was not entirely original. But I
composed songs with that beat, people liked it and it
became my trademark.

Finally, let me ask you once again, are you sure you have
no regrets living in this manner, far away from everybody
and everything?

You have stirred many memories in me. I have been so
happy talking to you about the old times. Nobody cares
for people like us any more, not that I want people
around me. Because you have brought some cheer to me
today, let me be very honest and tell you that my only
regret is that I have no regrets. Believe me, I am very
happy. But at times, I do keep remembering a sher that I
want you too to hear:

Aashiyan apna loota apni nazar ke saamne,

Ho ke beghar main khada apne ghar ke saamne.

(My beautiful world crashed before my very eyes/ I stand
homeless outside my own home)

Make whatever you will of this!

Editor's pick

Chayen se humko kabhi

Asha Bhonsle - Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaye

Deewana hua baadal

Mohd Rafi, Asha - Kashmir ki Kali

Khud dhoond rahi hai shamma jisey

Asha - Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon

Aao huzoor tumko sitaron mein le chaloon

Asha - Kismat

Ye hain reshmi zulfon ka andhera

Asha - Mere Sanam

Taarif karoon kya uski

Rafi - Kashmir ki Kali

Udey jab jab zulfein teri

Rafi, Asha - Naya Daur

Yehi woh jagah hai

Asha - Woh Raat Phir Na Aayegi

Haule haule saajna

Asha - Sawan ki Ghata

Jaiye aap kahan jayenge

Asha - Mere Sanam

Aankhon hi aankhon mein

Rafi, Geeta Dutt - CID

Ishaaron ishaaron mein dil lene wale

Rafi, Asha - Kashmir ki Kali

Maang ke saath tumhara

Rafi, Asha - Naya Daur

Pukaarta chala hoon main

Rafi - Mere Sanam

Ye duniya usee ki zamana usee ka

Rafi - Kashmir ki Kali

Ye hai Bombay meri jaan

Rafi, Geeta - CID

Jaane kahan mera

Rafi, Geeta - Mr and Mrs 55

Elo main haari piya huyi teri jeet re

Geeta - Baazi

Bahaarein phir bhi aati hain

Mahendra Kapoor - Bahaarein Phir Bhi Aayengi

Mera naam chin-chin-choo

Asha - Howrah Bridge

Laakhon hain nigaah mein

Rafi - Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon

Chehere se zara aanchal

Mukesh, Asha - Ek Baar Muskura Do

Kitna haseen hai yeh jahaan

Asha - Humsaya

Aap yunhi agar humse miltey rahe

Rafi, Asha - Ek Musafir Ek Hasina

Jawaniyan ye mast-mast bin peeye

Rafi - Tumsa Nahi Dekha

More at:
http://www.dailypioneer.com

Thanks !!

That was good reading !!

Sri

Nair are South Indian (Malayali) and Nayyar are Punjabi

His name was Omkar PRASAD Nayyar, not Prakash as mentioned in the article in Pioneer....

This article seems to be full of typos. Baazi was produced by Dev Anand and directed by Guru Dutt. It had music by S. D. Burman and was released in 1951, even before O. P. Nayyar's first film was released (Aasman was released in 1952).

Guru Dutt produced his first film called Baaz in 1953 which had music by O. P. Nayyar.