Visitor article by Ravindra Kelkar launching OP Nayyar’s Centenary Celebrations with a tribute to Shamshad Begum on her 106th delivery anniversary, and likewise wising a really Comfortable Baisakhi, Bihu, Vishu and comparable festivals throughout India
(Ravindra Kelkar is one other once-an-SOY-regular who has woken up after a deep slumber. This time it got here as an even bigger shock. Mr Kelkar had written a sequence of six articles on OP Nayyar ranging from his 10th dying anniversary on 28.1.2017. The old-timers keep in mind him as an OP-expert. Maybe he had an epiphany when he noticed the centenary celebrations of Rafi on SOY. As OP Nayyar’s centenary falls on 16 January 2026, Mr Kelkar approached me to have a good time his centenary likewise, and likewise provided to put in writing plenty of visitor articles on him culminating on his Centenary Day.
OP Nayyar’s earliest superhit music was within the voice of Shamshad Begum, ‘Kabhi aar kabhi paar laaga teere-e-nazar’. Her contribution to OP Nayyar was immense – when he was dealing with boycott, she stood by him and gave one superhit after one other. But, after giving some nice songs with Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum, OP Nayyar regularly shifted wholesale to Asha Bhosle, with Rafi remaining a relentless. The story is well-known however Mr Kelkar provides some crucial insights. Although an unabashed fan of OP Nayyar, Mr Kelkar doesn’t mince phrases when discussing his character flaws. Equally, on this provocative write-up there isn’t a hint of malice when he concludes that lastly it was an entire takeover by Asha Bhosle resulting in his sharp downfall as he couldn’t preserve the boundary between the skilled and the non-public.
Music is a matter of private alternative and you might disagree with Mr Kelkar with a lot of his observations. However based on me, this can be a worthy article to launch OP Nayyar’s centenary celebrations. Shamshad Begum maintained a dignified silence all this whereas. This text coincides along with her birthday (14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013), so it’s befitting to pay our tributes to her. This present day can also be a joyous event in lots of elements of the nation – Baisakhi (Punjab), Bihu (Assam), Vishu (Kerala), Gudi Parwa (Maharashtra) and so forth. Wishing the readers the easiest on this glad day.
Mr Kelkar is a post-graduate in Statistics and Laptop Science and was an IT skilled. He has since retired and relies out of Pune. Thanks Mr Kelkar for returning with a superb article on OP Nayyar, who regardless of some character flaws, gave us joyous music. I’m glad to launch his centenary celebrations on a joyous event. – AK)
After studying the title, the query that involves the thoughts is, was there actually a transition to Asha or a takeover by Asha Bhosle? For my part, it was each, transition in addition to a takeover. Was it the primary time {that a} composer shifted from singer A to singer B? After all not! When Lata Mangeshkar, who had debuted a number of years earlier, created a storm in 1949-50, inside no time there was an entire takeover by her. The explanation was apparent. The sheer high quality of Lata’s pure, melodious and candy voice, so utterly totally different from the then prevalent voices, alongside along with her inborn musical intelligence and flawless rendering made it a digital stroll over. All the foremost composers en masse shifted to Lata. Nothing like this occurred in Asha Bhosle’s case. OP Nayyar’s first movie was Aasmaan (1952), by which Geeta Dutt sang for the primary time; and Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum sang for the primary time in OP Nayyar’s second movie Chham Chhama Chham (1952), So, by the top of first two movies itself, OP had used all of the three singers.
Now one other important occasion occurred in the course of the songs recording of Aasmaan, which contributed to OP’s final complete shift to Asha Bhosle. One music, “Jab se pi sang naina laage tab se…Mori nindiya churaye gayo” was to be recorded. In case you take heed to this music, rendered by Rajkumari, it’s obvious that OP had created the tune for Lata. Lata was contacted to sing the music. However for some motive she didn’t flip up. One model of the story claims that Lata had sinus drawback, one other model says that when Lata got here to know that the music was to be picturised on a aspect heroine, she refused to sing it. The third model says, a messenger was despatched to Lata, asking her to sing this music. At the moment, sending a messenger was a regular apply to e book singers in addition to musicians. Lata advised the messenger that, she gained’t sing the music for any Nayyar, Vaiyyar. Messenger gave the message to OP verbatim. The third model appears to be extra genuine as a result of afterward this was kind of confirmed by none apart from Rafi himself. A brand new MD requested Rafi to sing a music and advised him that he gained’t be capable to pay his full price, nonetheless Rafi readily obliged to his request. When requested as to why he accepted to sing despite being paid a lot much less, he mentioned ‘You realize what occurred when Lata refused to sing for OP when he was a no one”. Nonetheless, the top results of this was {that a} everlasting rift occurred between OP and Lata.
OP Nayyar grooming Asha Bhosle for 7-8 years
By 1952, Geeta and Shamshad had been already nicely established singers, whereas Asha was nonetheless taking child steps to get a agency foothold. In line with OP, when he first labored with Asha in ‘Chham Chhama Chham’, he rapidly realized the large potential in Asha. He was fairly clear in his thoughts that he wanted to groom Asha to make her right into a succesful playback singer to nullify the impact of Lata not being obtainable to sing his songs. In line with OP, Asha had inferiority advanced when it got here to Lata, Geeta and Shamshad. OP needed to do quite a lot of exhausting work to take away it. It additionally wanted a great deal of endurance and persistence. In my view, it was 1959-60, when Asha lastly grew to become a really assured and competent singer in her personal proper to be free from Lata, Geeta and Shamshad hang-up. So it took nearly 8 years of transition. It’s fairly attention-grabbing to review how OP moulded Asha in these 7-8 years of transition. There’s a widespread perception that the success of Naya Daur (1957) triggered this transition which is just unfaithful. The success of Naya Daur, intently adopted by Tumsa Nahi Dekha (1957) simply hastened the whole takeover. This may be substantiated by the variety of songs sung by Asha (93 songs), Geeta (52 songs), Shamshad (30 songs) for OP Nayyar until the top of 1957. This reveals that Asha had already sung extra songs than the mixed tally of Geeta and Shamshad. This additionally signifies that the transition was already going down. By the top of 1960, the transition was full and Asha grew to become the only real feminine voice in OP’s music.
OP Nayyar in the end utterly ignored Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum
The query nonetheless stays as to why did OP go to the extent of completely ignoring Geeta and Shamshad? It could possibly’t be denied that this was gross injustice to Geeta and Shamshad and ungratefulness proven by OP. OP’s first tremendous hit music was ‘Kabhi aar kabhi paar laaga teer-e-nazar’ sung by Shamshad. It was Geeta, who advisable Guru Dutt to signal OP for ‘Baaz’ and subsequently for ‘Aar Paar’. All people is aware of, it was the tremendous success of ‘Aar Paar’ on which OP’s musical profession was established. It additionally must be remembered that Shamshad totally supported OP by singing songs for the movie Mehbooba (1954), when all of the singers had been requested to boycott him as a result of he had changed Roshan for the movie (Please seek advice from my earlier put up ‘OP-Geeta Dutt: A peerless mixture’ for the total story). The one clarification potential is that OP was infatuated with Asha and will not deny any calls for of Asha. That was the worth OP needed to pay for the 14 years lengthy relationship along with her. Raju Bharatan very accurately defined this as ‘Love has no motive, solely a season’. Within the lengthy interview given by OP to Vividh Bharati (Daastan-e-Nayyar), he narrated that “Geeta as soon as rang me and requested me why I’m not asking her to sing his songs. I advised her that from the time Asha has come into my life, she insists that she is going to sing all the feminine songs and no one else”. He additionally acknowledged in the identical interview that he’ll carry the guilt of the injustice performed by him to Geeta and Shamshad until the top of his life. Satirically, OP, who used to consider that the music is extra vital than the singer, himself went towards his perception by giving all his songs to Asha regardless of the deserves of the music, from 1959 onwards until their break-up. It’s worthwhile remembering that OP gave one solo music to Krishna Kalle within the movie Taxi Driver (1973). The music was ‘Pyaar karte ho yaar’ and instantly after this Asha determined that she gained’t sing for OP any longer.
To assist my concept, I’ve tried right here to current a number of songs, sung by Asha which I really feel had been at the least as or extra appropriate within the voices of Geeta or Shamshad. This listing is only primarily based upon my evaluation of the songs sung by Asha, by attempting to think about in my thoughts how the music would sound if sung by Geeta or Shamshad. It was nice enjoyable. On this train, I additionally discovered a number of songs which might very simply have been sung by Lata, not a shock to me. I do know this train is only hypothetical however undoubtedly value it. Even Lata was tempted to do it along with her ‘Shradhanjali’ sequence. Additionally, I recall there was a prevalent development of model songs in Nineteen Fifties and Nineteen Sixties, the place in style songs had been sung by different singers and these data had been printed.
Evaluation
Earlier than we go to the songs, I’ve a number of extra observations to make.
1. It’s my rivalry that, in the course of the transition interval, Geeta and Shamshad songs grew to become extra in style than these sung by Asha. Take a case of ‘Howrah Bridge’. ‘Mera naam chin chin chu’ grew to become extra in style than ‘Aaiye meherbaan’. Within the musical hits of ‘Aar Paar’, ‘Mr and Mrs 55’ there was no Asha Bhosle. In CID (1956), ‘Leke pehla pehla pyar’ sung by Shamshad-Rafi was extra in style than the unhappy model sung by Asha Bhosle. In Chhoomantar (1956) it was ‘Garib jaan ke’ that turned out to be primary music. In Musafirkhana (1956), Rafi-Shamshad duet ‘Thoda sa dil laga ke dekh’ turned out to be the chartbuster. Asha sang all the feminine songs in Baap Re Baap (1955), Hum Sub Chor Hain (1956) and Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957), whether or not solo or duets. In ‘Baap Re Baap’, it was the duet with Kishore Kumar which was a brilliant hit. Within the movie Hum Sub Chor Hain, ‘Hum ko hanste dekh zamana jalta hai’ grew to become primary music. In ‘Tumsa Nahin Dekha’, Rafi songs had been extra in style.
2. Up till 1956, OP had performed splendidly in managing the distribution of feminine songs amongst Geeta, Shamshad and Asha, maintaining in thoughts the intention of grooming Asha. Prime examples of those are the films ‘Miss Coca Cola’, ‘Chhoomantar’, ‘Musafirkhana’, ‘Shrimati 420’, ‘Johny Walker’ by which Asha had 13 songs, Geeta had 17 songs and Shamshad had 6 songs. Ideally, he ought to have continued with this all through his profession. It could have resulted in additional selection in his songs and prevented his complete dependence on Asha to the purpose of no return.
3. It must be famous that, most likely, attributable to her marital issues, Geeta Dutt’s deal with her singing profession was getting adversely affected. Most likely attributable to this, her output of songs regularly decreased from 1960 onwards. So, not solely OP however many different MDs had been beginning to ignore Geeta Dutt as nicely.
4. Additionally be aware that SD Burman didn’t work with Lata within the interval of 1957-1961 (approx.). Throughout this era when you have a look at the distribution of songs between Asha and Geeta, the ratio is just like that of OP. So it appears, SD additionally believed that Asha was the higher choice. If there was one composer who was actually skilled in his alternative of singers, with no room for sentimentality, it was SD Burman. For SD additionally, Asha seemed like Geeta in fairly a number of songs, for instance, ‘Aaja panchhi akela hai’ in Nau Do Gyarah (1957), ‘Chaand sa mukhada kyun sharmaya’ in Insan Jaag Utha (1959)’ and ‘Haal kaisa hai janab ka’ in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958).
Allow us to now take heed to the songs that I’ve brief listed.
Half 1: Songs from interval of transition – 1954 to 1960 (I describe this era as a interval of transition when OP Nayyar appears to be giving songs to Asha Bhosle to spice up her confidence. My speculation is these songs would have sounded maybe pretty much as good or higher within the voices of Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt.)
On this interval, along with the songs listed under, there are fairly a number of songs sung by Asha the place you’re feeling that OP gave these songs to Asha to spice up her confidence.
1. Man extra ga jhoom ke – Mangu (1954) – Although Asha has performed an excellent job, nonetheless I really feel this music was very nicely suited to Geeta. In all of the songs the place I point out Geeta because the extra pure alternative, it’s primarily attributable to her pure capacity of throw of phrases in sync with the beats. Right here she remained unmatched all through.
2. Oh Mr. Banjo – Hum Sub Chor Hain (1956) – Geeta
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKtAXLoS_bQ
3. Antam phantam chhod de Babu – Hum Sub Chor Hain (1956) – Effectively suited to Shamshad for the ‘khanak’ in her voice.
4. Aaye hain door se – Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957) – Geeta. Rafi-Geeta duets at all times had a corroborating really feel to them. Together with her inherent advanced, Asha at all times tried to place aggressive aspect in her duets with Rafi.
5. Do nigahen teri – Mujrim (1958) – Geeta
6. Shokh shokh aankhen – Phagun (1958) – Geeta
7. Fundamental Bangali chhokara – Ragini (1958) – Although Asha has sung this very nicely, Shamshad would have performed equally nicely, including her personal flavour
8. O Assalam Alekum – Kalpana (1960) – This could have been Asha-Shamshad duet as a substitute of Asha-Sudha Malhotra
Half 2: Songs after transition – Put up 1960 (Asha Bhosle’s take-over of OP Nayyar)
1. Hong Kong China Mina – Hong Kong (1962) – A music nearly tailor made for Geeta. Hong Kong film was fairly clearly impressed by the success of Howrah Bridge. It had the identical hero – Ashok Kumar, the identical supporting actor – Om Prakash and music by OP. This music was created with the intention of replicating the success of ‘Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu’. Hearken to the top of the music the place Asha is made to sing in a soprano voice. There’s one other music on this film, ‘Dekhati hoon jidhar’ composed, by maintaining ‘Aiye Meherban’ in thoughts.
2. Tumhari adaaon se – Hong Kong (1962) – Shamshad
3. Kahiye janaab-e-Ali – Do Dilon Ki Daastan (1966) – On this music, Asha is clearly imitating Geeta Dutt, attempting too exhausting and consequently sounding synthetic. This film obtained delayed for some motive. The songs had been in all probability recorded previous to 1960.
4. Woh hans ke mile hum se – Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966) – The demand of the tune for explicit throw of phrases makes it appropriate to the pure capacity of Geeta Dutt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXdzHNX79Ds
5. Dil to pahle hello se – Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966) – For a similar motive as talked about above, Geeta would have performed an equally good or higher job.
6. Aaja mere pyar ke sahare – Humsaya (1968) – Ideally appropriate for Geeta
7. Balam harjayee – Taxi Driver (1973) – Geeta
PS: This write-up is just not meant to demean the large contribution of Asha Bhosle in OP Nayyar’s music. It was the standard of OP’s tunes and Asha’s singing from Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) onwards that resulted in OP receiving crucial acclaim from one and all. The very fact additionally stays that Geeta (presumably attributable to her marital issues) and Shamshad had been ignored by all music administrators from 1960 onwards. So the selection principally was both Lata or Asha.
My tackle Shamshad is that, she was able to singing any sort of music and put her distinctive stamp on it. Take the case of the songs ‘Boojh mera kya naav re’, ‘ Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana’ from CID (1956) or ‘Raat rangili gaaye re’ from ‘Naya Andaz (1956)’. She retained this high quality all through. You simply have to take heed to ‘Kajra mohabbatwala’ from Kismet (1968), the place she matches Asha with ease. It’s well-known that she was brief charged by C Ramachandra, Naushad and SD Burman, after the emergence of Lata, despite giving many hit songs of their earlier a part of musical journey.
So to place the factor in nutshell, the overall takeover by Asha resulted in OP dropping the plot as soon as the break up with Asha occurred.
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer
Tune hyperlinks have been embedded just for the listening pleasure of music lovers. Neither this weblog nor the writer has any business curiosity, nor do they counsel or declare any copyright over these songs which vests within the involved copyright holders.
