Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar as a tribute to OP Nayyar on his Centenary (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007)
(We have now reached the concluding post of the guest author in the series of tributes to OP Nayyar, coinciding with his centenary. OP Nayyar was one of the most complex personalities of Hindi film music. His personality impacted his music and his relationships to a great extent. Mr Kelkar is an OPN-admirer but he does not let this cloud his judgement of the man. In discussions with him, we agreed that this would be the most befitting tribute to OP Nayyar. Mr Kelkar forces you to rethink your views of OP Nayyar – perhaps such towering talents cannot be judged on the standards of middle-class morality. You feel sympathy that he suffered because of his own hubris. Thank you Mr. Kelkar for helming an excellent series.
Mr Kelkar has been a close observer of OP Nayyar. He has done Masters in Statistics and Computer Science. A retired IT-professional, he is now based out of Pune. – AK)
This is the fifth and final post on OP Nayyar in the celebration of his hundredth birth anniversary which concludes on 16th January 2026. I consider Anil Biswas, Naushad, C Ramchandra, SD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan and OP Nayyar as the top six music composers of the golden period. Amongst these six music giants, OP stands out because he is the only one to accomplish this without Lata Mangeshkar, who was the reigning deity of the golden period. This made me believe that OP’s birth centenary needs to be celebrated as a fitting acknowledgement.
In this post we will have an overview of OP’s musical career along with other aspects related to his life.
OP’s Childhood
There are many interesting characteristics in OP’s personality that defined the man. The biggest reason behind the sort of person he became was the hardships he suffered in his childhood. It’s a well-accepted premise that the grooming the child receives from the age of 4 to 12 shapes the character of the child when it grows up. OP was born in a family of four brothers and one sister. All his siblings were studious and followed the discipline set by their father. OP was the oddity; he was indifferent towards studies and had in born attraction towards the music. Due to his rebellious nature he would get frequently thrashed by his father. In addition, no family member had any interest in his musical pursuits and he never received any encouragement. His father would frequently comment that OP will end up becoming a street music player asking for alms and this made him even more depressed. All this made OP bitter towards his family and made him extra determined to prove them wrong by becoming a success in musical world. These psychological scars inflicted in his childhood never left him and affected his music career in the long run because of his outlook towards others.
OP’s rapport with Producers
OP’s first producer was DS Pancholi and OP remained grateful to him for giving him the break in films. Guru Dutt, Shashadhar Mukherjee and Sheikh Mukhtar were three other producers whom OP acknowledged for helping him in shaping his musical character. As far as other producers were concerned, he would be business like with them. He would tell them “Pay me my fees, accept my songs and that is it”. Due to this, he was not close to any producer and so there was no question of a producer repeating OP because of his closeness with OP. That’s one of the main reasons that OP scored music for only 78 films in a career span of 42 years. He had a very poor PR unlike many other MDs.
OP’s association with heroes/heroines
OP also was not close with Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor and Dilip Kumar. OP’s association with Shammi Kapoor began from OP’s first film Aasman (1951). Originally Shammi Kapoor was to be the hero and Shammi attended first few musical sittings with OP. Later on Shammi Kapoor was replaced by Nasir Khan. So right from 1951, Shammi Kapoor was a good friend and had great admiration for OP. But he still preferred Shankar-Jaikishan, due to OP’s strong character. This is one more factor as to why OP’s tally of the films is so less. Madhubala considered OP as a good friend and would offer discount in her films if music was composed by OP.
OP’s rapport with lyrics writers
OP always gave enormous importance to the lyrics. In an interview, he has said “I have always been selective and very particular about lyrics because I love poetry. Of course, I have personal fondness for romantic lyrics, so romance in my poetry was very important. The richness of the thought in the poetry of my lyric writers contributed to the making of OP Nayyar”. He worked the most with Majrooh Sultanpuri (125 songs), SH Bihari (94 songs), Jan Nisar Akhtar (84 songs) and Qamar Jalalabadi (74 songs). OP and Majrooh had a fall out about words in two songs of ‘Mere Sanam’ (1965). That film turned out to be their last association. OP stopped working with Sahir when Sahir inadvertently claimed that because of him SD Burman became popular. OP remained in touch with Qamar Jalalabadi till the end. I remember meeting Qamar Jalalabadi in 1993 on OP’s birthday when OP was residing in a remote Mumbai suburb, Virar. At that time, Qamar Jalalabadi also lived in Virar with his daughter.
OP’s bond with his musicians
OP always gave enormous respect to his musicians and treated them very well. He had a great empathy towards them. He was the one who started the procedure of paying the musicians immediately after the song recording was over. He would tell the musicians to avoid travelling in the crowded Mumbai local trains and come by taxi. OP would pay them the fare of the taxi. His only condition was that they should come on time. For anybody coming late, he could be strict and scolded them and in case of repeated offenders would not hesitate to dismiss them. I think he was the first MD to openly name the musicians that participated in his recordings and acknowledge their contribution in the success of his songs. In my last post I have already named most of his musicians. One name missing is that of Babu Sing who played Harmonium in OP’s songs. In OP’s last film Zidd (1993), Ustaad Zakir Hussain played tabla in the song ‘Tujhe pyar kar loon’. It seems Zakir turned up at the recording and requested OP to include him in the recording. OP obliged and made space in the song for tabla. The link to the song is provided here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ce3B7_Bier0
OP’s rapport with his singers
In the following photograph we have OP with Rafi and Geeta Dutt.
Everybody knows that OP never used Lata Mangeshkar. (I have already given details about their rift in my earlier blogs). Due to this, OP had to come up with such tunes that unavailability of Lata was not a constraint. This gave his music a different feel and unique appeal. OP added a different dimension to Rafi’s repertoire by giving him romantic, light songs and making him sing with gay abandon. Note that it was mainly from 1957 onwards that Rafi became major singer for many MDs including SD Burman and Shankar Jaikishan, In an interview, OP said “Geeta Dutt’s voice had real character, she had original voice. Shamshad Begum had the best voice, a truly khanakati aawaz. However, over all, Asha Bhosle was the best; she had certain vocal abilities that Lata or even Shamshad never had. I gave my best composing for Asha and she gave all her best singing for me”. Everybody feels that OP’s break-up with Asha in 1972 finished OP’s career. But if one takes a close look at OP’s career, he scored music for just two films in 1969, none in 1970, one film each in 1971 and 1972, and only two films in 1973 (last two films where Asha sang for OP, with songs being recorded before break-up). This indicates that OP was already getting isolated and was not a major force any longer. Note that, from 1970 onwards LP, KA, RD, SJ were scoring music for more than 10 films each per year. Hence my conclusion is that if the break-up hadn’t happened, may be OP would have continued to get a couple of films every year, that’s all.
OP’s family troubles
OP had a weakness for women. I present here a few of his quotes on women, given in different interviews.
“I feel that God created woman and then fell at her feet. Woman is God’s greatest creation.”
“OP Nayyar is a nobody without women. Women have inspired me, helped me overcome many crises like addiction to smoking, drinking. I am ever grateful to all the women who came into my life”.
“I am not a trained musician. I needed inspiration to compose which came always from women, women singers.”
This outlook towards women was the main cause of discord in his marriage. He married Saroj Mohini Arora in 1951. It was a love marriage. In another interview he told, “Before I married, I told my wife that I would always remain a womaniser. She took a promise that I would never marry again”. He had three daughters and one son. He broke up with his family in 1988, 37 years after marriage. At that time, OP was close to a lady less than half his age. His children, who had grown up by that time were fed up with this. The family members took an objection to it. OP threatened to throw them out of house. His wife and children filed a court case. OP was on a slippery ground with his reputation being at stake and was advised to settle the matter out of court. As a result, OP decided to walk out of the house by transferring his property to his wife. He died in 2008; so for the last twenty years of his life he had very minimal contact with his family. His wife passed away within one year after OP’s death. It’s understood that all his children are unmarried and live in the same house as of date. In the following photograph we see OP with his wife and eldest daughter.
OP’s last years
After the break up with his family, he lived in a remote suburb Virar in Mumbai for six years. For the last ten years of his life, OP lived as a PG with a family in Thane, another suburb in Mumbai. He was treated by them as a senior family member of the family and gave him respect and love. Finally he had found peace and lived a contented life with them till his death. OP had always had spiritual streak in him and that helped him in overcoming his family setback. He would tell us without any trace of emotion that his current situation is a result of his bad karma and no one else needs to be blamed, adding that it’s good that he is wiping out his bad karma in this life itself. Financially he himself managed fairly well. Around 1990 RPG bought HMV. In next couple of years, RPG reissued many OP albums on cassette and these were lapped up by his fans. The royalty received from the sale made OP financially comfortable. He also appeared in TVS SaReGaMa shows on TV and would be present in music shows featuring OP songs in various parts of India as well as in some Gulf countries. In Pune, every year there would be one such show where OP in person would grace the occasion. This generated additional income for him. One must give him the credit that till the end he never lost his stature and compromised on his principles. He always appeared in public in white silk attire, Italian shoes and top hat. Do not believe in the stories that he died a pauper; he lived like a king and died by living life on his own terms.
OP and his fan following
OP had a wonderful fan following. Even after being out of limelight for more than a decade, many of his fans would travel to Mumbai to greet him on his birthdays. He had a way with him to make his fans feel at home in his presence. In his musical shows he would always be surrounded by his fans and his shows were always houseful. My friend, Vishwas Nerurkar has compiled ‘Geet Kosh’ of many music personalities including Lata, Asha, Naushad, Madan Mohan, Khaiyyam, OP, RD Burman, Gulzar, etc. and has met and worked with many of them in person during his work. He claims that OP was the most glamorous of all and the kind of reverence and adoration OP received from his fans was unique. I can readily believe this since OP had a magnetic personality and would always stand out in a crowd.
Other talents
Other than music, he had two more outstanding talents. He was a widely acclaimed homeopath doctor. His fans arranged free clinics in cities like Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad where OP treated ailing, helpless patients by giving free treatment. It’s claimed that he cured many hopeless patients of their ailment. I suppose there are many patients still alive who can vouch for this. Raju Bharatan considered him as the finest homeopath. Another talent he developed was that of reading horoscope. Here also there are many stories about the accuracy of his reading of the horoscope of the people who consulted him. But he always felt that it’s not good to believe about your prediction of the future. He would say ‘Stars only indicate, they don’t dictate’. Two other passions he pursued were poetry and spirituality. He adored ‘Saint Kabir’, as can be gauged from the fact that he cut his first record by reciting Kabir vani. I feel, after his family setback, he turned even more towards spirituality.
OP as a person
OP lived his life king-size. He enjoyed to the fullest all the things that he loved like company of women, whiskey, imported cigarettes, expensive watches, American cars, etc. He had strong likes and dislikes. If he liked somebody, he would go all out to help him in his hour of need. On the other hand if somebody had rubbed him on the wrong side, he never forgave them. One drawback was he could be impulsive and this would sometimes land him into trouble and result into souring relationship with others. Towards his fans, he exuded genuine warmth, was very friendly and very open. He was very generous; he would tip the domestic help and waiters extravagantly for the service. He had wild side to him when it came to his passions. On the other hand, he held high moral standards when it came to punctuality, truthfulness, sincerity, honesty and he expected the same from others. This moralistic aspect affected adversely his music career by having conflicts with producers, directors, lyric writers, singers, etc.
Conclusion
As an end piece I quote from an article written by Raju Bharatan which aptly sums up OP Nayyar the composer.
“There were trendsetters before OP Nayyar, there have been pathfinders after him. But OP Nayyar’s niche, in our music, remains his own. We have seen litany of great composers in action, but OP Nayyar’s ‘balancing’ stands out as his own. OP Nayyar’s imitators are legion. But there is one, and only one, OP Nayyar: The Original.
His Mystique; it is unique”.
Now let’s listen to some of his songs. These songs have no common theme. This list represents my varied reflections on many aspects of his career.
Let’s start with two songs inspired from Naushad songs. OP had a great admiration for Naushad, the composer. This can be ascertained from the following incident. Once, a well-known musician came late for rehearsal at OP’s musical room. As OP asked him the reason, he told OP that he had gone to Naushad because he had promised Naushad to give him a tune. He expected that OP will be pleased since this showed Naushad in a poor light as a composer, OP was furious, he sternly told him, ‘Next time come up with a good excuse. Naushad taking tunes from you? What are you talking about?’
The image below shows Naushad and Jaikishan with OP.
1. O leke pahla pahla pyar – Shamshad, Rafi, Asha Bhosle – CID(1956). Lyrics – Majrooh Sultanpuri
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jSE-ZiIkfc
The tune ‘Jadunagari se aya hai koi jaadugar’ is same as that of ‘Necktie waale babu ko bula de koi re” from the song
Dil na lage jiya na lage – Parul Gosh – Namaste (1943). Lyrics – DN Madhok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZ5z83fFjUo
CID songs created a craze and helped OP to consolidate himself as an MD even more firmly. Raj Khosla was the director and in an interview he told a wonderful tale regarding the picturization of this song. He says “I told Dev Anand that he is not going to lisp this song. This shocked him. He asked ‘What am I supposed to do?’ I told him you are to just walk and he did”. The style in which Dev Anand has walked created a sensation amongst his fans. After watching this, many Dev fans started walking in his manner. The heroine Sadhana has also told in an interview that she watched this movie many times just to see the way Dev walks in this song. It’s also a fact that OP had offered this tune to a couple of producers earlier, who rejected it. When he played this tune to Guru Dutt, he immediately approved it and it showed Guru Dutt had a wonderful ear for music, since this song remains one of the most popular of OP songs. Harmonium is the main instrument used in the orchestration of this song and the beautiful harmonium pieces are played by Babu Sing. OP loved this instrument and has used it in numerous songs. I had not included it in my post on OP’s instruments with the intention of including it in this post.
2. Barso re – Asha Bhosle – Phagun (1958) – Lyrics – Qamar Jalalabadi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSCREw1KonM
The tune ‘Aaj kisi ke preet nagar mein lag naa aaye aag’ is same as that of ‘Aaj kisi ki haar hui hai aaj kisi ki jeet’ from the song:
Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj – Mukesh – Andaz (1949). Lyrics – Majrooh Sultanpuri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sppKUfO5Nbw&list=RDsppKUfO5Nbw&start_radio=1
In the OP song, the interlude piece based on high pitched chorus in conjunction with clarinet/flute piece leading to the Antara is exemplary.
3. Ab to tum sang naina laagi – Asha Bhosle – Dhake Ki Malmal (1956) – Lyrics – Jan Nisar Akhtar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXCJ-8dWln8
The interlude of this song is based upon Maithili Dhun. I provide here link to Maithili Lokgeet:
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YrEZDVEDhU
Based on the Maithili Dhun, N Dutta created the song ‘Tere pyaar ka aasra chahata hoon’. Later on OP Nayyar composed another song based on this.
5. Bahut shukriya badi meharbani – Rafi, Asha – Ek Musafir Ek Haseena (1962) – Lyrics – SH Bihari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2aSBlqu8sk
This is an evergreen duet. Another song where Harmonium is given prominence. Rafi is outstanding in this song. Raju Bharatan has mentioned in the book ‘Down The Melody Lane’ that OP contacted N Dutta and told him that he has composed a song inspired by the song ‘Tere pyar ka aasra chaahta hoon’. However, since OP had used the Maithili Dhun as interlude in 1956 itself, it’s moot point as to whether OP got inspired by N Dutta’s song or not.
(I can’t but wonder at the underlying unity among various genres of music. It is really a small world. In SOY’s 14th Anniversary post, besides ‘Tere pyar ka aasra chahta hun’, I discussed its similarity to Hemant Kumar’s ‘Mohabbat mein meri tarah jo luta ho, mere sath wo bhi gale mile ke ro le’ (‘Shart’, 1954), and Malika Pukhraj’s old ghazal ‘Arey maygusaaro’. And now, OP Nayyar-composed ‘Dhae ki Malmal’ and ‘Ek Musafir Ek Haseena’. While at this, please also see in that post discussions at #45-48 for N Venkataraman’s proof of AK’s conjecture – no harm in playing a professional mathematician. Amidst all this, a constant and the oldest is Vidyapati’s ‘Piya more balak main taruni re’.- AK)
6. Chhota sa baalama – Asha Bhosle – Ragini (1958) – Qamar Jalalabadi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlpJZs0YuK8
This song was based upon a Marathi Natya Sangeet sung by Master Deenanath Mangeshkar (father of Lata and Asha)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnfBk0ZPYD8&list=RDQnfBk0ZPYD8&start_radio=1
7. This song was included in a Marathi film Doodh Bhaat (1952) which was sung by Asha Bhosle.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ya4aHAiwbs&list=RD0ya4aHAiwbs&start_radio=1
Asha Bhosle has sung many Natya-Sangeet songs (originally sung by her father), in extremely effective manner and all of them are very popular in Maharashtra. The transformation done by OP in a ‘Chhota sa balama’ is superb; by adding OP touch to it. This amply demonstrates his genius.
It’s my observation that in the golden era, all the great music directors used to get inspired by the wonderful songs being created by their peers. Let’s listen to a few OP songs which I feel OP composed as a sort of salute to his peers.
8. Poochho na humein hum unke liye – Asha Bhosle – Mitti Mein Sona (1960) – Lyrics – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sntXTKQiTPI
I think OP was inspired by Madan Mohan’s song ‘Hum pyar mein jalne walon ko’ from the film Jailor, to create a song to match it. Importantly it pitted Asha Bhosle against her sister Lata Mangeshkar in Lata’s domain. Both are superb songs and it’s very difficult to pick which is better.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4QYNzsLeTQ
The film Mitti Mein Sona is not available for viewing and the pity is that ‘Poochho na humein’ song was not included in the movie, hence the second stanza of the song is not available, though in music shows on OP this song has been presented in full that includes both the stanzas. I provide link here of one such presentation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH6JbKoXu1k
10. Main khidki mei aaungi – Rafi, Asha – Kalpana (1960) – Lyrics – Qamar Jalalabadi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiWVtO6ZivE
I think OP was highly impressed by the song ‘Jivan mein piya tera saath rahe’ from the film Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959). OP composed this song by using same template. Opening sher by the female singer followed by aalaap by Rafi, then fast clarinet/flute intro piece. Both the songs end with a short clarinet/flute piece. The link to Goonj Uthi Shehnai song is given here for reference.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hekj4MgNRG4
The funny thing is that the music pieces of the Goonj Uthi Shehnai song remind you of OP. In the OP song you get the impression that Asha and Rafi are competing with each other as to who sings better. The opening sher and the intro piece are terrific. The interlude music piece reminds you that of the song ‘Humdum mere maan bhi jao’ from Mere Sanam (1965).
11. Jee chaahta hai kheench loon tasveer aap ki – Rafi, Asha – Basant (1960) – Lyrics – Shevan Rizvi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaS1b8-Nx5Y
The opening aalaap by Asha reminds me that of the aalaap by Lata in the song ‘Tere sur aur mere geet’ from the film Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959). The link is provided here for reference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiW-wm7jY58
Vasant Desai and OP were good friends and it seems that OP was highly impressed by his score for the film ‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’. Coming back to this OP song, it’s so melodious that no wonder that Pt. Shivkumar Sharma called OP as ‘Melodiously Romantic King of Rhythm’. He further emphasized that OP’s melody and romance can never get old, it will remain fresh forever. Notice that this is one of those rare songs which start with antara. There is no doubt that Asha has excelled in this song. The movie ‘Basant’ had 14 songs and it had 10 Rafi-Asha duets which is a record. The film didn’t include 4 of the 14 songs which probably is also a record to have so many songs dropped from the film.
12. Chaand raaton ko nikale – Asha Bhosle – Aisa Bhi Hota Hai (1971) – Lyrics SH Bihari.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTsqyeYLXJU
My contention is that this was OP’s answer to the popular song ‘Chanda hai tu mera suraj hai tu’ from film ‘Aaradhana’. This is another OP song where you have mukhra in Western beats and antara in Indian beats.
O meri gori gori jaan – Kishore Kumar – Aisa Bhi Hota Hai (1971) – Lyrics – SH Bihari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZePUgFEJQc
Here OP has created a composition to tell the producers that he was perfectly capable to fit in the new tend. This was the time period where Kishore Kumar/RD Burman combination was the current flavor and OP has come up with a song to tell the producers that he can perfectly capable to fit in the new trend.
Now let us listen to two interesting songs.
13. My name is kishori and yours – Asha Bhosle – Dil Aur Mohabbat (1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ito9zMPx8Y
This is not a song but a few words and then music and it’s used to ensure Joy Mukherjee loses in the gambling, I can’t help feeling that the words of this song probably inspired Shakti Samanta/RD Burman/Anand Bakshi to create the song with the wording ‘Mera naam hai shabnam’ in the film Kati Patang.
14. O gori sharmaon na – Asha Bhosle, Kama Barot – Shrimanji (1968) – Lyrics SH Bihari
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omFNHPmtJF8
This is another case where the theme of the song is used in another very famous film song ‘Rukmani Rukmani’ in the film ‘Roja’. Again like the last song, this OP song is picturised as a comedy song and the words and their meaning is wasted. However, in ‘Roja’ the lyrics match with the picturisation of the song. Coming back to OP song, it has many interesting features. The opening sher is in typical OP fashion. The song is lisped by four persons, three females and IS Johar (in the disguise of a lady), in the voice of Asha Bhosle. The melodious interludes are based upon the combination of taar-shehnai and flute. No other instrument is used. On top of this, we have accordion used as a counter melody in prominent manner. OP at his experimental best.
Now let us listen to the title music of two films. The MD of these two films is not OP, but still music composed by OP is used. Also, there is no mention of OP in the titles. I have no knowledge about how this can happen. People claim that such music pieces are treated as a stock music and can be used by other producers. I don’t know. May be knowledgeable folks in the SOY family will throw some light on this.
15. Title music of film Preetam (1971)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uyluT270ls
16. I have provided here a link to the film. Watch/listen from the time 1:53 to 4:10 mins. This title music is the same as that of the film Mere Sanam (1965). The link is provided here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5uZS2Rhy5I
Watch/listen from the time 5:40 to 8:10 mins. In the title music of Preetam, the Rafi and Asha aalaaps have been excluded. The title music has OP stamp all over it.
17. Title music of a Marathi film Bayako Maheri Jaate (1963)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFFgbB1sSQM
Watch/listen from 0:25 to 3:37 mins. This music piece was taken from the film Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POnUGNEbFUA
18. Watch from 1hr:44min:50sec to 1hr:47min:20sec. The song ‘Sar par topi’ starts immediately after this background music piece.
Now let’s listen to the last song.
19. Pukarata chala hoon main – Rafi – Mere Sanam (1965) – Lyrics – Majrooh Sultanpuri.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLKBwutnPwA
We have many songs that have been copied from western tunes. This has been done by all our music directors. But this song has the distinction of being copied in a western album called ‘Call Of the Spring’. This was released in 2009.
20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbjv4IfisOw
PS: Let me express my gratitude to AK for allowing me to write these blogs in celebration of OP Nayyar’s hundredth birth anniversary. THANK YOU!!
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you Ravindra Kelkarji for so richly concluding the series on O P Nayyar. The preamble so succinctly presents OPN in a capsule. The follow-through part of the songs is as innovative in its approach as it is interesting and gripping in its content.
Ashok M Vaishnav #1,
Thanks for your comments. I am pleased that you liked the songs selection.
One interesting aspect is that he shared the music with another composer in a few films. Examples I have come across include BAAP RE BAAP ( C Ramachandra ) , MANGU (Mohammad Shafi ) and MEHBOOBA ( ROSHAN ) . He did not hesitate to share the music with another composer in the initial days. The other aspect is that in the late fifties his music was such a craze that many eminent composers of the time set at least one song in their movies in the OP style!
Great tribute to the Maestro on his birth centenary. RK has painstakingly chronicled life and times(and music) of OPN. Selected songs and comments thereupon are quite interesting. Thank you.
A brilliant tribute Ravndra Kelkar You’ve perfectly captured the ‘rebel’ within the genius. It’s fascinating how OP Nayyar turned his lack of formal training into his greatest asset—creating a sound that was unburdened by tradition yet technically flawless. His ability to use the Sarangi in upbeat tracks remains one of the most daring ‘experiments’ in Hindi cinema. This piece truly does justice to the man who proved that while ‘waqt’ (time) is king, his rhythm is eternal.”
Rajeev Apte,
Welcome to SOY.
Congrats for giving op lovers like me such a brilliant article! Your in-depth exploration of OP Nayyar’s life, from his humble beginnings to reaching the top of the very competitive music industry in a short time, is truly alluring. The way you’ve woven together his personality, struggles, and triumphs makes your article inspiring. His music still continues to resonate with audiences of the new generation, which endorses the greatness of his music. Your article with links to his songs does justice to his enduring legacy. Great job! The last part of the article, where you have shown how his tunes were used by various MDs@&The fact that the tune of pukarata– is used in an English music album is news to many of us. Hats off for putting so much effort into researching &giving us a fabulous article
Ravinderji,
Thank you for an interesting concluding post, thus bringing down the curtain on the series of tributes, commemorating OPN’s centenary year.
The first part, a biographical sketch, divided neatly into twelve distinct sections, flowing seamlessly and covering OPN’s personal as well as career, was well structured. The second part, a musical bouquet, with supporting narratives and your thoughts, too was interesting. On the whole, a nice post from a passionate admirer of OPN.
You wrote that OPN loved the instrument Harmonium and has used it in numerous songs and you had not included it in your previous post on OPN’s instruments with the intention of including it in this post. On this subject, I remember Siraj Khan (most probably) mentioning that OPN once said to him,
“My mother developed a liking for music when she was expecting me and had in fact learning Harmonium during the period. Perhaps that may have flowed into my veins.”
Further, when OPN was staying in Patiala between 1947 and 1949, he earned his living teaching Harmonium. And while living a rather low profile life in Thane during his sunset years, he used to play the harmonium at leisure. Thus this instrument was an inseparable part of his life and music.
Again quoting Siraj Khan on another aspect, that is on Geeta Dutt, OPN once said,
“It remains one of my greatest regrets that I phased Geeta out 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.”
Geeta Dutt had become alcoholic and tragically died in 1972, when OPN’s relationship with Asha was on the rocks. That was effectively a double blow for OPN.
KB #3
Due to the success of Aarpaar, K Amarnath, the producer of the movie Mehbooba replaced Roshan with OP. For the same reason, Sheikh Mukhtar, the producer of the movie ‘Mangu’ replaced M Shafi with OP.
For Baap Re Baap, I think C Ramchandra walked out and the AR Kardar, signed OP. Most probably for same reason OP replaced Robin Chatargee for the movie Dhake Ki Malmal,From 1957 onwards due to the popularity of OP songs many other MDs composed songs in OP style. I have already written a detail post on this.
Prabhakar #4,
Many thanks for the kind words
Rajeev Apte #5,
Many thanks for the praise
Avinash Date #7,
Many thanks for the generous praise.
N Venkatraman #8,
Many thanks for the praise.
OP played two musical instruments expertly, one was Harmonium and second was piano. He composed tunes on harmonium and used piano for orchestration.
Your are right about the story that OP’s mother learned harmonium when she was expecting OP.
Your observation on Geeta Dutt is quite true.
I was hoping that some of the knowledgeable SOY family members will throw some light on how come the title music of Mere Sanam was used for the film Preetam ( music for this film was scored by SJ). Probably there could be other instances also where this has happened.
Ravindra Ji
Congrats for completing a great series on the rhythm king OPN. Meticulous research and nice writing in a structured way.
I am not at all familiar with the inner workings in Hindi film world-I purely experience music as I listen to them and so I am not at all competent to comment on your query #14 regarding the title music of Preetam and Mere Sanam. Since no one has till now replied to you , i am hazarding a pure guess!
Jaikishan passed away in 1971 and maybe due to his demise the title music for Preetam could have been incomplete( I understand Jai mostly did the title music in SJ films)..so the producer Bhapi Sonie might have used the earlier track of Mere Sanam as a short cut…like Sherlock Holmes or Hercule Poirot I could see two common factors to both the films-Music assistant /arranger Sebastian and the editor M S Shinde…but I am not saying anything further!!!
Copyright was very slack in those days….
By the way if I am permitted to comment-in your earlier blog you said ” it was a pity Shammi Kapoor switched to SJ instead of OPN”…whcih personally I feel was not warranted–both were greats..in fact SJ more consitent and with a huge variety in their repertoire and a 20 year long successful stint… as compared to OPN..anyhow I am aware SOY is not for SJ!!
Sivanandam ji,
I am sorry I have to come back again that there is no basis for your innuendo in the last sentence. Whatever I write is my views. Whatever guest authors write is their views. There is no suggestion from my end to give a particular slant. You have also been a guest writer. We have to give some respect to the guest writers that they are honourable enough to tell me to go to hell if I ask them to give a pro or anti- slant.
Shivanandam Ji, #15,
Thanks for your comments. Yes it’s a mystery about the title music and probably will remain so,
About Shammi Kapoor/SJ and OP, there is no doubt that SJ and Shammi Kapoor delivered the goods, year after year. For your information, I love those songs,
As I have stated in my opening remarks, I consider Naushad, Anil Viswas, SD Burman, C Ramchandra, SJ and OP as top 6 MDs and I admire and enjoy music of all of them.
It’s just my view that for Shammi Kapoor, OP’s rhythm oriented music style was tailor-made. It’s all history now.
As AK has already replied to you, on SOY, I have always been given a free hand. So there is no bias here.
AK #16,
I agree with you. In fact, over the years, SOY has developed into a wonderful site, where we have our personal likes/dislikes about our musical preferences and respect the myriad views. In my opinion that’s the strength of this site and a major reason why it’s running successfully for so many years with remarkable consistency. Of course, with so many talented guest writers, the content is also top class.
Like all newbies, let me start by saying that, I am a first time poster but a very very long time silent follower of this excellent long running blog. My main reason for being a silent follower is that I neither have the required knowledge to respond or contribute quick enough, nor have the ability to find time. By the time I’ve thought of something to say, someone’s already posted a response far quicker and better than mine So, then, I just sit back and enjoy the rich flow of information. May the blog continue to run and run.
Before I post my response to Kelkar ji’s query regarding the similarity between the title music of Mere Sanam and Preetam, I would be grateful if you could kindly indulge me to say a few words about SOY.
This blog is truly a wonderful place for information, discussion and research concerning the golden era of Hindi film music. The credit for that obviously goes to AK ji. To maintain a blog for over a decade is a monumental achievement. To do so with consistently high quality of interesting, thoughtful and informative topics deserves all the accolades it gets. This is supplemented by equally knowledgeable readers and posters, who time after time respond with their own wide ranging and excellent opinions, suggestions and experiences.
Credit goes to AK ji for letting all the diverse perspectives and discussions to flow through seamlessly, thus providing an interesting, entertaining, sometimes robust, discussion on the common theme of the golden era music.
Another key aspect of the beauty and success of the blog is the simplicity of it’s page design. Not only is the colour scheme excellent, but the intuitive, clutter-free and straightforward layout makes it a joyful and effortless reading experience. I use the word ‘simplicity’ not as a term for something of low quality, but as the complete opposite. This is a classic case of how to produce something of the highest quality without overloading the site with content-dump or memory-heavy pages. Other bloggers, running similar content sites, would benefit greatly if they took the leaf out of SOY’s design. These sites often have very good content, but the pages are needlessly cluttered with advertisements and other useless links.
So well done and congratulations to AK ji.
Coming to the query by Kelkar ji, here is my two-pence worth. Please don’t take it too seriously.
As Shivanandam ji has already pointed out #15 (again a case of someone beating me to the post ), one of the common denominator in both films is the presence of Sebastian D’ Souza as the assistant music director. We know, from the excellent series of articles on Music Arrangers by Pandya ji and Vaishnav ji, that the assistant music directors were highly accomplished musicians themselves and were talented enough to carry the load of providing music for various sections of the film.
So in the case of Mere Sanam and Preetam, an imagined scenario would’ve gone as follows:
Mere Sanam (Music session)
OPN : Sebastian, title music abhi baki reh gaya hai… tere khayal mein koi cheez ho to soona do.
Sebastian : Theek hai, Nayyarsaab, mein dekhta hoon. Pasand aaye to chalaa lena.
And Sebastian prepares the music.
Preetam (Music Recording)
Shankar : Sebastian, aise waqt par Jai ki kameen mehsoos hoti hai. Wo hota to title music kabhi ka ban chuka hota.
Sebastian : Shankarji, aap theek kehete ho. Woh samay kuchh aur thaa.
Shankar : Apni peechhli dhoono mein dekho, shaayad kuchh mil jaaye.
Sebastian : Han zuroor, yakeenan kuchh to hoga.
Title music of Preetam takes shape.
Disclaimer : These scenarios are purely hypothetical, no disrespect intended to any parties.
On a related note, the presence of Sebastian D’ Souza as assistant music director for other MDs, other than Shankar Jaikishan, is the true mark of greatness of Shankar Jaikishan. They were so far ahead of others that they had no problem in sharing their team members with other MDs. The team of SJ, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Sebastian and Dattaram was a close and respected group linked together (mainly through RK), and yet we find so many instances where Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri wrote lyrics for other MDs whose music and songs were in direct competition to SJ. Similarly, Sebastian and Dattaram gave their own music as well as working as assistants to other MDs. Can you imagine how much the other MDs would have learnt about SJ’s work.
Shankar Jaikishan’s towering creative genius and contribution is so great that, even when LP went ahead in number of films and recognition, the sheer number of incredible songs per each film by SJ has never been matched. Other MDs would have two or three memorable songs per film whereas SJ would have five to six, film after every film.
On a second note, O.P. Nayyar’s arrogance and lack of people skills shines through when he broke up with the greatest of all singers, Mohd Rafi, simply because Rafi was slightly late coming from a recording session with Shankar Jaikishan. Correct me if I am wrong but, OPN is supposed to have told Rafi, “Aapko Shankar Jaikishan ke liye waqt milta, lekin mere paas der se aate ho.” Or something to effect. The connection being OPN – Shankar Jaikishan – Sebastian ‘D Souza.
Hope this is not too long
Mahesh Joshi,
Welcome to SOY and, first of all, I am overwhelmed by your very kind words. Your detailed comment in a very fluent language does show that you have followed the blog sincerely. I am surprised to see that with so much to say you have withheld yourself for so long.
I follow some blogs and find them of very high quality. I have been lucky to get some very knowledgeable followers, and with them it has been a very enriching journey. I guess this has spurred me to carry on for so long. This has become a readers-driven blog. I must say I have been quite lucky in this regard.
Ravindra Kelkar has anchored an excellent series on OP Nayyar. Kudos to him for discovering the similarity in the title tunes of Mere Sanam and Preetam in the first place. Very interesting hypothetical discussion between OP Nayyar-Sebastian, and Shankar-Sebastian. But Sebastian also arranged for Salil Chowdhury in some films. He created different effect for each.
AK ji
Thank you for your warm welcome. Much appreciated. As far as holding back is concerned, its mainly to do with time and subject knowledge. By the time I’ve thought of something to say, it has already been posted, with much more expertise than me, by someone else. The pleasure, however, is still the same.
You are right about the high quality contributions made by the readers of SOY. Luck? Maybe up to a point, but for them to respond so positively needs an appropriate stimulant, and that is provided by you – with your own articles, allowing guest authors and balancing the blog so skilfully.
You are also right about Sebastian having assisted other MDs – I am sure the experts on SOY will, no doubt, have fuller knowledge.
Funnily enough, just like you, I also was thinking of Salil Chaudhary as the one Sebastian assisted. Below are links to two songs in which Sebastian (and also Shailendra, Mukesh) were involved for Salil Chaudhari in Jaagte Raho, and Shankar Jaikishan in Aas Ka Panchhi. The similarities between the two songs is uncanny. The SJ style of linking the inter-melodies through accordion and the rhythm sequence is very distinct. Infact, for a long time I was under the impression that Jaagte Raho had SJ as music directors – the Raj Kapoor combo.
Zindagi Khwab Hai – Jaagte Raho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyYhXafFq2Y&list=RDdyYhXafFq2Y&start_radio=1
Apni Bhi Kya Zindagi Hai Nirali – Aas Ka Panchhi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeQpJ-beJBQ&list=RDUeQpJ-beJBQ&start_radio=1
Kelkar ji’s articles on OPN are indeed very interesting and informative. Well done.
Mahesh Joshi,
You have given very apt examples – one from SJ, the other from Salil Chowdhury. There has to be some common link – in this case it was Mukesh. If I mention my own feeling – I instinctively found OPN style very different for his steadfast exclusion of Lata Mangeshkar. That permeated to his distinct orchestration too. Sebastian D’Souza must have adjusted his arrangement a great deal
This is a finely judged and deeply respectful appreciation of O.P. Nayyar at the height of his creative powers. Rather than leaning on nostalgia or a catalogue of famous songs, Ravindra takes a wider view, presenting Nayyar as a composer whose originality and confidence set him apart during Hindi cinema’s most competitive decades.
What works especially well is the way he traces OP’s journey through the 1950s and 60s without turning it into a chronology. The emphasis remains on musical personality, command over rhythm, and a refusal to follow established formulas. The writing allows these qualities to emerge naturally, helping the reader understand why Nayyar’s work felt distinctive in its time and continues to feel fresh today.
The tone throughout is measured and assured. There is clear admiration, but it never slips into exaggeration. Instead, the piece quietly builds its case through observation and context, encouraging the reader to listen more attentively and with greater awareness of the craft behind the music.
Overall, this is an insightful and engaging piece that deepens appreciation of O.P. Nayyar not merely as a hit-maker, but as a composer of rare individuality and lasting influence. A rewarding read that stays with you well after you’ve finished it.
AK ji
You are right about the distinctive and recognisable orchestration of OPN. He, indeed, had a style of his own. Both, in the use of particular instruments (clarinets and sarangi) and the percussion rhythm (mixture of eastern and western). Other MDs, of course, used similar techniques, instruments and rhythms, but OPN sound was uniquely different.
Not wanting to push the issue (of similarities between the title tracks of Mere Sanam & Preetam) too much, I would just mention that, almost all of SJ title tracks always included tunes of the songs from the same film woven into them.
Of course, there must’ve been exceptions in many films, but this was their common practice. In the Preetam title music, however, there are no such tunes. This is no more than just a casual observation on my part.
Pravin #23,
Thanks for your generous praise.
Mahesh Joshi #24,
Interesting speculation. However, you seem to have missed the point that the same title music of Mere Sanam is used for the film Preetam. I don’t think this was composed or recorded again from Preetam. Possibly, producer Bhappi Soni approached GP Sippy (producer of Mere Sanam) and persuaded GP Sippy to allow him to use the title music of Mere Sanam for his film Preetam.
Kelkar ji,
I agree with you that the title music of Mere Sanam and Preetam are very similar, apart from the absence of the alaap by Rafi and Asha in Preetam, and I have not missed the point.
Infact, my initial post #19 was precisely about that aspect of your original query #14. Following up from Shivanandam ji’s post #15, I, like Shivanandam ji, speculated (rightly or wrongly) that the reason for the similarity might have been because of the presence of Sebastian D’ Souza as the assistant MD on both films.
Based on the comprehensive series of articles on Music Arrangers, by Pandya ji and Vaishnav ji, we know that the assistant music directors were highly accomplished musicians themselves and were talented enough to create music for various sections of any film, including title music.
So it is not beyond the realms of imagination to think that the title music was, perhaps, created by D’ Souza and used for both films, as was. Not saying it definitely was, but as I said there is a possibility!!!
Without any concrete evidence, it is highly unlikely that we’ll ever find out the real reason. 🙂
A very well articulated personality sketch of one of the greatest artists. The details actually makes the personality alive in front of you. You have delicately but very precisely picked up events in his life that made his personality. It also reflects on his oersonal life, wins and losses, struggles and most importantly his values which never wavered in front of weight. A truly king size legend.