Top melody maker O.P. Nayyar dies at 81

Mumbai: Hindi film's renowned melody-maker O.P. Nayyar died of cardiac arrest yesterday. He was 81.

The great composer entertained music lovers with his peppy numbers for decades. Some of his evergreen numbers are Mera naam Chin Chin Choo..., Ek pardesi mera dil le gaya..., Deewana hua badal..., Isharon isharon mein... and Balma khuli hawa....

Not to forget the Aaiye meherbaan... from Howrah Bridge. Picturised on Madhubala, the bar song is an all-time favourite among all age groups till date.

Born Om Prakash Nayyar on January 16, 1926 in Lahore, he started his career as an assistant with the All India Radio in Jalandhar, Punjab.

New sounds

Later his love for music forced him to shift base to Mumbai, where he got his first break in Kaneez (1949), followed by Aasman (1952).

However, he made it big with Guru Dutt's Aar Paar (1954) and since then there was no looking back for the composer.

Nayyar formed a winning pair with Dutt and churned out hits like Mr & Mrs '55 and C.I.D. Apart from that he composed music in films Tumsa Nahin Dekha, Miss Coca Cola, Baap Re Baap, Sone Ki Chidiya, Phagun, Jaali Note, Ek Musafir Ek Hasina.

Nayyar gained popularity for his experimentations and introduction of new sounds.

Some of the common characteristics of his music compositions were a clip-clop sound and fusion of folk music and modern instruments. For his inimitable compositions he was crowned "Rhythm King".

He worked with singers Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi. He was the only music composer who never worked with Lata Mangeshkar.