O.P Nayyar ( 16th January 1926 to 28th January 2007 )
S.H.Behari (12th July 1920 to 25th Feb 1987)
<Brief biographies of both the artists given at the end of the blog.>
It is very rare that when we think of a music composer from the Golden era of Hindi Film Music, one can list out so many unique traits. Some of these are:
- A trademark hat, always impeccably dressed even when he fell out of his good times.
- Starting a career straight away as independent music director without having assisted anyone earlier and that too without any formal training in music.
- Music with that ‘typical’ rhythm , mostly with tabla and dholak that would earn him the title “ Rhythm king” -music that one can immediately identify who the composer was.
- A name that , when mentioned on the film poster would guarantee success even if the film turned out to be mediocre . He even had the unique distinction of having his photo on the film poster instead of the hero/heroine!
- The first music director to command a fees of one lakh rupees in the 50’s.
- First to insist that all his musicians are paid on the spot once the recording is completed so that they need not keep ‘begging for their remuneration’ as it was the practice earlier. The entire music fraternity was thankful to him for this.
- A fierce, independent nature that never compromised to the extent that he never worked with the leading lady of Hindi film music , Lata Mangeshkar and remained successful. However many a times this trait went against him, with people perceiving him as an egoist!
- A stickler on punctuality so much that even when his most favored male singer Rafi came late for one recording, he did not allow him into the recording studio and didn’t work with him for some time ( till they patched up few years later!)
- The intense association and grooming of Asha Bhonsale for whom he composed her career best songs ( which very sadly she never acknowledged publicly ) and the equally bitter and sudden parting of ways from her permanently, that almost finished off his career.
….the list goes on and on to describe the supremely gifted music composer Om Prakash Nayyar ( OPN) was.
Having no formal training in music, and without having assisted any other music director , he was one of the very few ( or may be the only one?!) to compose independently from the beginning, his music always came from his heart and so would be liked by the masses immensely. Although many others used the horse-beat rhythm even years before him , he sort of “ patented ” it to the extent that any song with the typical horse-beat rhythm would be associated with him. Romantic songs were his main strength but now and then one can get to hear a gem of a bhajan like “ Aana hai toh aa raha mein kuch der nahin hai, Bhagwan ki ghar der hai andher nahi hai” or a patriotic “ Yeh desh hai veer jawanon ka” a pathos ridden” Chain se humko kabhi aap ne jeene na diya” etc.
In one of the programs aired in the Vividh Bharati channel of All India Radio, I heard him saying in a film song 50% of credit should go to the lyricist, 25 % to the singer and orchestra and only the balance 25% to the music director! He was one of the very few composers who had acknowledged this aspect. He had worked with many lyricists starting from Qamar Jalalabadi, Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri , Jan Nissar Akhtar , Kavi Pradeep and later on, with relatively lesser known or those who worked mostly with him like Shevan Rizwi, Aziz Kashmiri , Noor Dewasi ( his one song Aao Huzur tumko sitaron mein with OPN made him famous) and last but not least the lyricist chosen for this blog: Shamshul Huda Behari-SH Behari ( abbreviated SHB henceforth in this article).
Whenever I pick up a legendary music director’s association with a particular lyricist, it is only to highlight the fact that the lyricist chosen had more hits with that music director and may not be vice-versa. This implies OPN’s best songs were with all the other lyricists also. The major exceptions to this rule that I could think of were Naushad-Shakeel and Shankar-Jaikishan-Hasrat-Shailendar ,wherein the partnership was fiercely loyal.
SH Behari was fluent in Hindi, Urdu and also in Bengali. OPN had credited him as Shayar-E-Azam meaning the emperor among poets. He also wrote story and dialogue for few films. Although he began his career in the 50’s with some songs for Roshan in the film Bedardi, Madan Mohan for Khubsurat etc, he got his first fame with Hemant Kumar composed film Shart in 1954. The songs Na yeh chand hoga, na tare rahenge, Dekho wo chand chupke karta hai kyai share became very famous. Initially he worked with Hemant Kumar and then with his one-time assistant-turned independent composer Ravi for few films. But his major hits were mostly with OPN. In the Hindi music world , lyricists generally never got their dues, except few like Sahir, Shailendra, Shakeel & Majrooh. Even among serious music lovers, singers and music composers are more talked about and lyricists remain a last priority.
Among them SH Behari was one great lyricist who is sadly, almost totally forgotten! Once you go through this list , it may surprise you that the song is well known but you had never realized it was written by SH Behari.
Let us look at few gems from this great team. Songs are listed chronologically in the order of the year of the film’s release with Film-Year/Song title/Singer(s) mentioned in that sequence. Although I have provided the links to each song, my experience is that due to technical /copyright issues , many of them may not work. Readers can either search for the songs or play them in respective sites.
#1. Ek Musafir Ek Hasina-1962/Bahut shukriya badi mehrbaani/ Rafi & Asha
It is surprising that both OPN & SHB started their careers almost at the same time, in early ‘50s, but it appears they were running on absolutely parallel tracks. OPN had mostly Majrooh , Sahir, Jan Nissar Akhtar , Qamar Jalalabadi as his main lyricists, occasionally working with others also like Hasrat Jaipuri, even Madan Mohan’s close associate Raja Mehdi Ali Khan for one or two films. And SHB was more in collaboration with Hemant Kumar and his assistant-turned independent composer Ravi in the initial few years.
It was only with Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, the team of OPN & SHB started striking gold. This film had ten songs in all, with two of them penned by SHB and rest by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Shevan Rizvi.
Bahut shukriya badi mehrbaani has that characteristic harmonium and dholak that are mostly enough for OPN to create his immortal tunes. SHB’s imagination is amazing-the heroine starts worrying if she would totally lose her heart to the hero if keeps praising her beauty so much!:
मुझे डर है मुझ मैं गुरूर आ न जाए
लागूं झूमने मैं सुरूर आ न जाए
कहिं दिल न मेरा ये तारीफ सुनकर
तुम्हारा बने और मुझे भूल जाए
#2. Ek Musafir Ek Hasina-1962/ Mujhe dekh kar aapka muskurana/Rafi
This song is something that is“ made to order” for Rafi. OPN had once commented that if there is no Rafi , there is no OPN. It is sad to read in many articles , highlighting only the one incident when OPN had refused to work with Rafi when he arrived late for a recording. They always forget that for OPN , Rafi was the main male playback singer and he created so many masterpieces for him. That “ Ho” before the phrase Mujhe dekh kar with a slight break in the voice is just Rafi all the way!
#3. Kashmir Ki Kali-1964/ Deewana hua badal/Rafi & Asha
Kashmir Ki Kali was a landmark film in OPN’s career and all the songs were great hits. I have selected five songs from this film that had Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore as the main actors. The romance in Deewana Hua Badal made it so popular that even now this songs comes at the top of any romantic song list. OPN was revolutionary in using the instrument Sarangi in such romantic mood, taking it out of the sad tones it was usually associated with.
#4. Kashmir Ki Kali-1964/ Hai duniya usi ki, zamana usi ka/Rafi
One of the best use of Saxophone in Hindi film songs ( played by the veteran Manohari Singh), the trio -OPN, SHB & Rafi come out with a stunner. The way Rafi improvises on the words ‘ mohabbat’ in ‘n’ number of ways is something he does with style.
#5. Kashmir Ki Kali-1964/ Isharon mein dil lenewale/ Rafi & Asha
Like how he had used the harmonium, sarangi, saxophone in the songs mentioned earlier, this one is all about the Sitar & Violins.
SHB makes out a question in form of an answer to a question with the lines:
इशारों इशारों में दिल लेने वाले , बता ये हुनर तूने सीखा कहाँ से
निगाहों निगाहों में जादू चलना मेरी जान सीखा है तुमने जहाँ
#6. Kashmir Ki Kali-1964/ Subhan allah haseen chehra/Rafi
With the dholak belting out a thundering percussion aided with one more unique aspect of OPN’s music-the clap of the hand used so innovatively, this is another vintage OPN composition. Excellent use of harmonium, mandolin & clarinet-how does he ever think of such compositions! Rafi’s ‘twist’ in one of those “ subhan allah” perfectly matches the on-screen antics of Shammi Kapoor.
#7. Kashmir Ki Kali-1964/ Yeh chaand sa roshan chehra/Rafi
If the story is about Kashmir , can the santoor be left behind? A medley of sitar , santoor, sax, guitar, violins OPN provides a buffet lunch , riding on the famous Shikara. Though he was initially reluctant to allow Rafi do that repetitive ‘tareef karoon kya us ki’ towards the end of the song, but when Shammi & Rafi together convinced him , he appreciated that…Rafi repeats it 5 times and during the 6th one Shammi falls into the lake. One more unique thing in this song is that OPN has different interludes -usually he maintains the same one for all the three stanzas. The ubiquitous clap is also there!
#8. Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi-1966/ Yehi who jagah hai/Asha
Although she never talked about OPN’s immense contribution to her professional career , more so after their bitter parting of ways, Asha always gave her best in his compositions only. To be very frank, on a strictly personal note , I am not a great fan of Asha. I like only few of her selected songs, but as a blog writer, I always set aside my personal bias!. However, if I have to rank her best songs, it would be mainly with OPN, SD Burman , Ravi and then only the ‘most-hyped and talked about’ R D Burman. This song Yehi who jagah hai is such a subtle melody that shows how OPN , apart from being a rhythm king was without any doubt a melody king also. One more song where the saxophone was used so nicely .
#9. Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi-1966/ Phir miloge is baat ka wada/Rafi & Asha
Just like Kashmir Ki Kali, the film Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi also merits multiple selections from the OPN-SHB team. Once cannot ignore this evocative duet that meanders in a slow pace unlike OPN’s foot tapping tempo. Rafi & Asha have just one stanza each but make their mark with their superb rendition. We talked about many instruments that OPN had used in the songs discussed so far. In this we see the flute being used in perfect sync with the song. And Rafi weaves his usual magic with the nuances he brings about in the words वादा, मिलोगे, बात , मुलाकात!!
#10. Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi-1966/ Aap se maine meri jaan mohabbat/Rafi & Asha
One more slow-paced melodious duet by Rafi & Asha with some excellent , imaginative writing by SHB.
ज़िन्दगी क्या है मुहब्बत की मेहरबानी है
दर्द को मैंने हक़ीक़त में दवा समझा है
सैंकड़ों साल के जीने से है बेहतर वोह गड़ी
हाथ में हाथ हो जब यार का
और मौत आ जाए
#11. Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi-1966/Mera pyaar who hai ke /Mahendra Kapoor
The only song by Mahendra Kapoor in this film and what a superb rendition by him! Poets , by nature imagine the most extra-ordinary things and that is why their words make such an impact. In the golden era of HFM lyrics had so much of beauty in any genre, more so in the romantic. That is why SHB writes:
मेरा प्यार वो है के मरकर भी तुमको
जुदा अपनी बाहों से होने न देगा
मिली मुझको जन्नत तो जन्नत के बदले
खुदा से मेरी जान तुम्हें मांग लेगा
#12. Saawan Ki Ghata-1966/Zulfon ko hata le chehre se/Rafi
It is a fact that OPN gave an altogether different dimension to Rafi’s singing. Not that other music directors did not do that. When one listens to the songs of Rafi in OPN’s compositions , one can appreciate the breezy romance and the free-wheeling style of Rafi. The मुँह रात का काला and थोड़ा सा उजाला are the cherries on the top of the cake. One must also give credit to GS Kohli, OPN’s assistant who normally took care of the percussion section-keenly listen to that tabla which sounds as if some vessel is dropped and running on the floor. It is always a poet’s job to exaggerate things; SHB exactly does that in the lines:
ज़ुल्फो को हटा ले चहरे से
थोड़ा सा उजाला होने दे
सूरज को ज़रा शर्मिदा कर
मुंह रात का काला होने दे
(if the heroine removes her tresses that are covering her face, the brightness would embarrass the sun and at the same time would be an insult to the dark night!!)
#13. Saawan Ki Ghata-1966/Aaj koi pyar se/Asha
The dholak , sitar , sarangi and santoor and Asha, SHB-OPN needed only these to create this lilting melody.
#14. Saawan Ki Ghata-1966/Zara haule chalo more saajna/Rafi & Asha
After talking about twelve songs, only now we are into that trademark horse beat rhythm of OPN! Shows that contrary to the popular perception, OPN’s music was not just about horse-beat rhythm! The first interlude throws up one more instrument which we have not talked about in all the songs so far-Clarinet. It is said that although OPN had Sebastian D’Souza as his arranger( who was also a long-time arranger for Shankar-Jaikishan) he used to personally get involved in the interlude orchestration also. That is why we see a huge variety of instruments and a distinct flavor in his interludes.
SHB once again brings out the romantic essence so beautifully , especially the lovers’ tiff:
पड़ गई जनाब मैं तो आपके गले
अब तो निभाए बगैर ना चले
प्यार के सफ़र में होते ही रहेंगे
झगड़े हज़ार सनम
प्यार के दीवाने, चलते ही रहेंगे
फिर भी मिला के कदम सजना
होते ही रहेंगे नीची नज़र के
मीठे-मीठे इशारे
ज़रा हौले-हौले चलो…
#15. Mohabbat Zindagi Hai-1966/Na jaane kyon hamare dil ko/Rafi
When we look at most of the songs from the pair of OPN & SHB , they are mostly romantic , light hearted breezy numbers. This is one is no exception. The typical beat of OPN makes it lively.
#16. Humsaya-1968/Aaaja mere pyar ke sahare/Asha
When it comes to songs of this type, there is no competition whatsoever for Asha. She is simply outstanding in this song. I was surprised to know that this song was edited out of the film!! What a sacrilege!
The song has a long prelude that has Arabic/Persian influence . The interludes have that special “ clapping” -I feel he was one of the few music directors who used the clap to the best extent.
#17. Kahin Din Kahin Raat-1968/Tumhara chahne wala khuda ki duniya mein/Mahendra Kapoor & Asha
It is really to the credit of OPN and SHB that they could bring out the romantic in Mahendra Kapoor ( who otherwise mostly got relegated to singing certain type of songs only). OPN had that special attention to using a solo instrument in the interludes that brings out the essence of the melody One cannot see much clutter of instruments in his orchestrations. The sitar and flute are simply fabulous in this.
This is one of the best duets of MK, what with SHB , as usual running amuck with his imagination:
ये बात कैसे गवारा करेगा दिल मेरा
तुम्हारा ज़िक्र किसी और की ज़ुबान पे हो
तुम्हारे हुस्न की तारीफ आइना भी करे
तो मैं तुम्हारी क़सम है के तोड़ दूँ उसको
तुम्हारे प्यार तुम्हारी अदा का दीवाना
मेरे सिवा भी कोई और हो खुदा न करे
तुम्हारा चाहने वाला….
#18. Kismat-1968/Kajra mohaabbatwala/Shamshad Begum & Asha
OPN had started off his career with Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt , with the latter even playing a major role in giving him the much-needed break by recommending him in Guru Dutt’s Aar Paar. However, his infatuation with Asha made him neglect these two singers. It was after a long gap he composed for Shamshad Begum . This was the last hit song that Shamshad Begum had sung and would always be remembered for this.
OPN needed just a harmonium to create this magical number-the dholak, tabla , claps, flute all play a subdued role before the harmonium which was one of OPN’s favorite instrument.
#19. Kismat-1968/Lakhon hai yahan dilwale/Mahendra Kapoor
#20. Kismat-1968/Ankhon mein Qayamat ke kajal/Mahendra Kapoor
These two songs from Kismat can be rated as the best solos by MK for OPN. One can hear a completely refreshing feel in these two songs to this day. OPN proves his point by using a single instrument to the best possible extent. It is guitar all the way in Lakhon hai yahan dilwale and Aankhon mein Qayamat ke kajal with a flute chipping in between like a bird’s chirping.
#21. Dil Aur Mohabbat- 1968 /Kahan se laayi ho jaan-e-man yeh kitabi chehra gulabi Aankhen/Mahendra Kapoor & Asha
While listening to this song, we also feel like asking OPN, SHB & MK, from where do they get to compose and render such intoxicating songs! The heady cocktail of guitar, santoor and just the brush against the drums to provide the percussion makes it an intoxication one can get addicted to. Asha has only a brief humming now and then, the sarangi comes in for a fleeting moment and a solo violin at the background end gives the song an ethereal feel. No wonder OPN used to say that he does not need any big banner films-HE WAS THE BIG BANNER in his films! I would rate this as one of the top songs of Mahendra Kapoor-a super sensual rendition by him. Note the way he enunciates “ yehi who chehra jise poojte hain”. Absolutely stunning.
#22. Ek Baar Muskurado-1972/Chehre se zara aanchal/Mukesh & Asha
In 1968 there was an unfortunate break up that OPN had with his all-time favorite male singer and one of the gentlest souls in music world -Mohammad Rafi. The usually very punctual Rafi had come late for the recording of a song for Humsaya and the innocent man that he was , he gave the actual reason to OPN that he got stuck in another recording for Shankar -Jaikishan!…this infuriated the stickler for time OPN and said that he will not work with Rafi further as he did not value OPN’s recording. The gentleman Rafi then told him that they will part ways but after completing the recording or else the producer will have to bear the loss. After few years they did patch up ( as usual it was Rafi who took the initiative but by that time OPN’s career was on the downslide). During that period, Mukesh, Kishore got the chance to sing more for OPN apart from the other singer whom OPN had to rely on during that period-Rafi’s own protege Mahindra Kapoor.
It is amazing that Mukesh always makes his mark with the few opportunities that he gets in his way. One can get to hear a different Mukesh in this song. At the low octaves he sounds best among most of the singers. The melody is also too good, Asha joining Mukesh with superb alaap.
#23. Ek Baar Muskurado-1972/Yeh dil lekar nazrana /Mukesh & Asha
The creative juice had still not dried up in Nayyar sahab-the Punjabi beats with the dholak & claps could still work in 1972 even after the new trend in music was creating waves by RD Burman, Kalyanji Anandji , Lakshmikant Pyarelal in the early 70’s . The tempo is foot tapping and reaches a crescendo at the end.
#24. Pran Jaaye Par Vacahan Na Jaye-1974/ Chain se humko kabhi aap ne/Asha
I still cannot understand how this song had lyrics that so perfectly matched the bitter parting of ways between OPN & Asha. It is said that Asha did not turn up for receiving the Filmfare award for best female singer for this song and instead OPN took it but neither he handed it to her nor she took it from him.
In my blog I consciously avoid writing much about the personal lives that are not relevant to their career and so let us leave it at that.
But what a swan song! Was it some sixth sense that made SHB compose these immortal lines? A completely “ non-conforming to OPN style “ composition with almost nil orchestration except for a piano, flute, one can say that this remains the career best by OPN-Asha and of course SHB also contributing his best . It is another co-incidence that after this song , though SHB had written few songs for OPN it better not to talk about them as they were nothing compared to what they had created earlier. I am giving the full lyrics of this song as a fitting tribute to this great pair.
चैन से हमको कभी
आपने जीने ना दिया
ज़हर भी चाहा अगर
पीना तो पिने ना दिया
चैन से हमको कभी
चाँद के रथ में
रात की दुल्हन जब जब आएगी
याद हमारी आपके
दिल को तरसा जाएगी
आपने जो है दिया
वो तो किसीने ना दिया
ज़हर भी चाहा अगर
पीना तो पिने ना दिया
चैन से हमको कभी
आपका गम जो इस दिल में
दिन रात अगर होगा
सोचके ये दम घुटता है
फिर कैसे गुज़र होगा
काश ना होती अपनी
जुदाई मौत ही आ जाती
कोई बहाने चैन
हमारी रूह तो पा जाती
इक पल हँसना कभी
दिल की लगी ने ना दिया
ज़हर भी चाहा अगर
पीना तो पिने ना दिया
चैन से हमको कभी.
Although OPN continued to compose music for another 20 years for mostly mediocre films , the spark had died. The only saving grace was a 1988 Telugu film ,Neerajanam that turned to be a great musical in Telugu film music history and had excellent songs.
Very brief life-sketch of these two legends
Omkar Prasad Nayyar was born on 16th Jan 1926 in Lahore . His family did not have any musical legacy nor did he undergo any formal training. Music was in his bloods. At the age of 17 , he composed two songs one of which was the famous Preetam Aan Milo sung by the legendary CH Atma. After partition, he shifted to Amritsar and one of his friends took him along with those two songs to one Dalsukh Pancholi , a film maker. He was called to Bombay ( as known at that time) and was signed up as composer for his first film Aasmaan. Though the music was appreciated, the film flopped and so did his next two films: PL Santoshi’s Chham Chhama Chham and Guru Dutt’s Baaz. Again , the music of Baaz was very good but the film flopped. A dejected OPN was thinking of going back to Amritsar but as he had some dues from Guru Dutt he went to him for recovering the same. However Guru Dutt was also in dire straits but as he was in need of a composer for his next venture, Aar Paar, from the funds he could raise for this film , he paid Rs 2000 as advance to OPN and he scored 8 songs . What great hits they turned out to be , with the film also being a success. There was no turning back for him in the next 20 years . But life turned a full circle for him as he had a bitter separation not only from Asha but also from his family consisting of his wife Sarojini, three daughters and a son. He just left them and became a recluse, living in Thane as a paying guest of one of his ardent fans, Rani Nakhwa. He had very few friends at that time and had cut off his connections with the film industry except for Gajendra Singh and Ahmed Wasi. The former introduced him to the popular TV singing reality show Sa Re Ga Ma Pa and that was the time people could see the legend back in public life. He died almost unknown to the film industry, with even his family not attending his funeral as per his wish.
Shamshul Huda Behari’s personal life , like many of the legendary lyricists of the golden era remains obscure. Nothing much is known about him except that he was born in Arrah, Bihar on 12th July 1920. He had a long career , starting off as a story and dialogue writer and then a lyricist from the early 50’s till the late 80’s. Apart from OPN he had worked with Roshan, Madan Mohan , Hemant Kumar, Ravi and Shankar-Jaikishen and in the later part of his career with Laxmikant Pyarelal ( his songs Tumse milkar na jaane kyoon in the 1985 film Pyaar Jhukta Nahin and Teri Mehrbaaniyan title song became quite famous) . He passed away at the age of 66 on 25th Feb 1987.
Acknowledgement & Disclaimer
I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:
- You Tube
- Wikipedia
- Yesterday’s Melodies Today’s Memories book by Mr. Manek Premchand
- www.Songsyore.com music blog
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been mentioned /embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.
Music Unrestricted 
Very informative blog, provides many information about these two legendary musicians I came to know.
Commendable effort.
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