Bollywood Retrospect: 10 songs that capture the essence of OP Nayyar's music- Part 1

OP Nayyar was the earliest rock star music director of Hindi films minus the sex and drugs. He was talented and brash. At his peak, almost every film he composed for was a hit and he had producers lining up to coax and cajole him into composing music for their films.

His ride in those days, a swanky Cadillac, was in fact his fee for a film he was trying to wriggle out of. He demanded a Cadillac thinking the producer would then leave him alone but relented when the Cadillac was delivered at his doorstep.

The catchy nature of his many hit songs earned him the title of Hindi film industry’s Rhythm King. What was striking about his success was the fact he achieved it without ever recording a song with Lata Mangeshkar. He was the rare Hindi film composer who was consistently successful while also being prolific, especially between the mid-1950s and mid-1960s. There are so many 'OP Nayyar essentials' that I need two parts and a 20 film pick to do justice to his work.

To commemorate the master’s 90^th birth anniversary on January 16, here is the first part of my top 20 picks of OP Nayyar film albums.

Aasman (1952)

Aasman was OP Nayyar’s debut film. In his book A Journey Down Melody Lane, Raju Bharatan relates how a song in this film, ‘Piya Aan Base More Nainan Mein’, may have been the cause of the rift between OP Nayyar and Lata Mangeshkar. OP Nayyar had apparently approached Lata Mangeshkar for this song and when she turned it down, he recorded the song in Rajkumar’s voice (his only song with her) and vowed to never work with Lata. OPN denied this ever happened. My pick from the film, however, is the haunting ghazal ‘Is Bewafa Jahan Mein’ in CH Atma’s sonorous Saigal-like voice. OPN’s reliance on CH Atma in his debut film was because of the success of their past non-film work. Much before Aasman, OPN had first come to notice with his CH Atma-rendered song for the All India Radio, ‘Preetam Aan Milo’.

Aar Paar (1954)

OP Nayyar’s first three films went unnoticed, leaving him disillusioned and ready to call it quits on Bombay. Geeta Dutt convinced him to stay and got him work in Guru Dutt’s film Aar Paar. The film’s catchy music caught on with the audiences and removed any misgivings OPN may have had about a career in Hindi films. It was also the beginning of a glorious partnership between OPN and Geeta Dutt. My pick from the album, although it’s one of those that is  worth listening from end to end, is the sexy ‘Babuji Dheere Chalna’ that OPN very cleverly adapted from Osvaldo Farres’ ‘Quizas Quizas Quizas’.

Mr. & Mrs. 55 (1955)

After the success of Aar Paar OPN became a fixture in the films Guru Dutt produced, although he preferred SD Burman for his more serious subjects. By now, OPN had perfected the light and upbeat music that went so well with the many rom-coms he came to be associated with. Mr. & Mrs. 55 was filled with many such songs. My pick from the film is ‘Udhar Tum Haseen Ho’, a love ballad sung by his two singers of choice at the time— Mohammed Rafi and Geeta Dutt.  While OPN also used a dholak for the antaras, it was his use of alternative percussion instruments and beats, like castanets in this song, that earned him the moniker of Rhythm King.

Chhoo Mantar (1956)

Although Geeta Dutt was his most significant partner and delivered most hits during this period, he did work with Asha Bhosle occasionally. Chhoo Mantar was among the few films in which he employed both the singers. My pick from the film, ‘Aaja Re Aaja Na Sata Re Piya’, happens to be an Asha Bhosle song. It was with songs like this that OPN, along with SD Burman helped shape Asha Bhosle’s voice and turned her into the diva she would go on to become in the years to come. This was also one of OPN’s earliest tonga rhythm songs, a genre he came to be closely associated with.

C.I.D. (1956)

With C.I.D., OPN produced another spectacular hit score for Guru Dutt. After C.I.D., Guru Dutt moved to films with more serious subjects and other music directors but OPN would return to Guru Dutt films a decade later for one last time before the director passed away. My pick from C.I.D. is the insanely catchy ‘Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishara Ho Gaya’, the only song in the film written by Jan Nisar Akhtar. The song is rather predictable and repetitive in its structure— a continuous cycle of a melodious mukhda by ‘Aankhon Hi Aankhon Mein Ishara Ho Gaya’, the only song in the film written by Jan Nisar Akhtar. The song is rather predictable and repetitive in its structure— a continuous cycle of a melodious mukhda by Rafi followed by a wistful sarangi (or esraj), a sparkling sitar, and a playful antara by sarangi (or esraj), a sparkling sitar, and a playful antara by Geeta Dutt. What makes this song so addictive despite the repetitions, is how perfect each of those individual section are and how wonderfully OPN puts them together. OPN’s use of a melancholic solo bowed string instrument in an otherwise mellow or even upbeat song became a trademark that would send music lovers in raptures. In a testament to the longevity of his music, the 2015 film Bombay Velvet featured Neeti Mohan’s fantastic cover of a song from C.I.D., ‘Jaata Kahan Hai Deewane’.

Naya Daur (1957)

OP Nayyar won his only Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Naya Daur. My hypothesis is that the mass appeal of his music and his association with films and music were seen as frivolous and negatively impacted his chances of winning awards. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that his only Filmfare Award was for a serious film— a social drama with a message. Naya Daur saw OPN shining in a genre he excelled at, folk music from his home state of Punjab. My pick from the film is the evergreen patriotic Boliyan, ‘Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawanon Ka’ by Rafi and S Balbir.

Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957)

Shammi Kapoor was a struggling actor with more than a dozen films till Tumsa Nahin Dekha. The film’s success transformed him into a superstar. OP Nayyar’s music helped establish his film persona of a rakish playboy, which gave him many hits down the years. In ‘Jawaniyan Yeh Mast Mast Bin Piye’, we find the quintessential Shammi Kapoor in his muffler, turning on his ada at a bevy of girls and singing in a sexy voice—Rafi’s— that might as well have been his.

12 O’ Clock (1958) 

12 O’ Clock was the last film in which OP Nayyar used Geeta Dutt’s voice exclusively for the lead female vocals. After this film, he would use her voice for just one other song before he transitioned completely to Asha Bhosle. If there is one thing that limited the scope of OP Nayyar’s music, it was his reliance on just a handful of singers. He used even Kishore Kumar sparingly, limiting his vocals in films where he played the lead role and later when OPN’s star was on the decline and Kishore’s was rising. Listening to Geeta Dutt’s singing in 'Tum Jo Hue Mere Humsafar' with Mohammed Rafi, one wonders why OPN had to make such a drastic move away from her.

Howrah Bridge (1958)

Howrah Bridge was the end of an era. In six years, Geeta Dutt helped OP Nayyar turn a celebrity composer from a relative nobody. Their association was short in quantum, yielding only 64 songs, but big on impact, yielding many hits which continue to live in filmgoers’ memory to this day. Howrah Bridge had many superb Asha songs - 'Aaiye Meherban', 'Dekh Ke Teri Nazar' and 'Yeh Kya Kar Daala Tune' among them - but the film’s most memorable song that has acquired cult status over the years was the rock n’ roll / cabaret number sung by Geeta Dutt and filmed on a very young Helen, 'Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu'.

Phagun (1958)

Phagun was not the regular OPN fare one had gotten accustomed to. In keeping with the film’s subject—involving zamindars and banjaras—the music derived quite a bit from folk music. By now, OPN seemed completely smitten by Asha Bhosle. Each and every of the eleven songs in the film featured her voice. With opportunities and exposure like this, Asha Bhosle flourished. The abandon with which she sang ‘Chhun Chhun Ghunghroo Bole’ revealed an increasingly self-assured singer. My pick from the film though is the extremely popular ‘been’ song and the film’s leitmotif, ‘Ik Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya’.