Arthur Nayyar (14 April 1950 – 11 November 2016), commonly known as A. Nayyar, was a Pakistani film playback singer. He started his career in 1974 with a duet song. Nayyar always claimed famous singer

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = ...

as an important contributor to his career as he learned film playback singing from Rushdi. Nayyar and

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed ( ur, ; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a Pakistani people, Pakistani film playback singer and still considered one of the leading voices of the film industry. Early life and career He was born in Delhi in 1946 and st ...

remained dominant playback singers of the Pakistani film industry in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.Profile of A. Nayyar on urduwire.com website
Retrieved 13 August 2018

Early life

Nayyar was born in Chak No.148/9.L, Ranson Abad, a small village in the

Sahiwal District Sahiwal District ( Punjabi and ur, ), formerly known as Montgomery district, is a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan. In 1998, it had a population of 1,843,194 people, 16.27% of which were in urban areas. Since 2008, Sahiwal District, ...

to a Christian family. His childhood was spent in

Arifwala Arifwala (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city and headquarters of Arif Wala Tehsil of Pakpattan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 88th largest city in Pakistan. Arifwala is located to the southwest of Pakpattan. History Ari ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

and later he shifted to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. He completed his matriculation from

St Francis High School, Lahore St. Francis High School, formerly known as Government St. Francis High School is a private Catholic school for boys, located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In spite of its name as a ''high school'', the school delivers a primary and high school edu ...

and was admitted to

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is an private liberal arts university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church. The university follows an American-style curriculum. Founded in 1864 by America ...

. He graduated with a BEd degree from the Government Central Training College in 1975. Nayyar spent his childhood watching both Indian and Pakistani films. Film playback singers like Muhammad Rafi,

Talat Mehmood Talat Mahmood (24 February 1924 – 9 May 1998) was an Indian playback singer who is considered one of the popular male Indian film song and ghazal singers. Although he tried his luck as a film actor, he did not succeed a great deal in acti ...

, and Saleem Raza inspired him.

Career

Nayyar's first appearance on TV was on the show ''Naye Fankar'' in 1974 after which he began his playback singing journey. He was introduced to

Lollywood Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of I ...

Riaz Shahid Riaz Shahid (1927 – 1 October 1972) was a Pakistani filmmaker, film writer, and a journalist. Early life and career Riaz Shahid was born in 1927 in Quetta, British India. He belonged to a Kashmiris in Punjab, Punjabi Kashmiri family. He ...

, a noted filmmaker of the time, who was searching for a singing talent for his upcoming venture '' Bahisht'' (1974). He was a student of film music director Wajahat Attre and also used to go to noted singer Mehdi Hassan for guidance. Nayyar sang over 4200 film, radio and television songs in his singing career.

Death

A. Nayyar was a heart patient for the last few years. His 28 years old son's death was the main reason behind his deteriorating health. Moreover, he was in financial crisis as film industry had totally forgotten him. On the night of 11 November 2016, around 8:30 pm, Nayyar died at his residence in Lahore of a cardiac arrest after a prolonged illness. He was laid to rest at Christian Graveyard on Jail Road,

in the presence of his friends, relatives and family members.A. Nayyar laid to rest
The Nation (newspaper), Published 16 November 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2018

Awards and recognition

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...

Award by the President of Pakistan in 2018 * A. Nayyar won five

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

for playback singing. His first Nigar Award for best singer in director Hasan Askari's film "Aag" in 1979, Nigar Award for best singer in director Sangeeta's film "Jeenay naheen doon gee" in 1985, Nigar Award for best singer in director

Pervez Malik Pervez Malik (1937 in Karachi – 18 November 2008) was a Pakistani film director. He was the director of Pakistan's first platinum jubilee film, " Armaan" (1966). He directed more than 20 films, mostly in Urdu language, and received e ...

's film ''Ghareboan ka badshah'' in 1988 and Nigar Award for best singer in director Sangeeta's film "Taqat ka tufaan" in 1989 and then again in 1991.

Popular film songs

*''Yunhin din cut jaye, yuhin shaam dhal jaye'', Sung by A. Nayyar and

Rubina Badar Rubina Badar (14 February 1956 – 28 March 2006) was a Pakistani radio, TV, and film singer. She is known for her TV song, "''Tum Sung Nainan Laagay''". Early life Robina was born in 1956. She started her singing career from Radio Pakistan, Kar ...

, film song lyrics by Taslim Fazli, composed by music director A. Hameed, film '' Bahisht'' (1974) *‘Pyar to ik din hona tha, hona tha ho gaya’, Sung by A. Nayyar with

Naheed Akhtar Naheed Akhtar (also spelled Nahid Akhtar) is a Pakistani playback singer. She is tagged as the "''Nightingale of Pakistan''". She was the top Lollywood playback singer during the second half of 70s and 80s. She won 3 Nigar Awards and a Pride ...

, lyrics by Kaleem Usmani, music by M. Ashraf from the film ''Kharidar'' (1976) *‘Sathi mujhay mil gaya, mil gaya mil gaya’, Sung by A. Nayyar, lyrics by Fayyaz Hashmi, music by Ustad Tafu, from film ''Jasoos'' (1977)A. Nayyar's film song on pakmag.net website
Retrieved 13 August 2018 *‘Milay do sathi khili do kaliyan’, Sung by A. Nayyar, lyrics by Kaleem Usmani, music by

Robin Ghosh Robin Ghosh ( bn, রবিন ঘোষ, ur, ; 13 September 1939 – 13 February 2016) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi playback singer and film music composer, best known for singing and composing music for Lollywood films from 1961 to 1986. Pla ...

from film Amber (1978) *‘Ik baat kahoon dildara’ Sung by A. Nayyar, film song lyrics by

Fayyaz Hashmi Fayyaz Hashmi ( ur, ; 1920 2011) was a Pakistani poet and screenwriter who worked both in the Indian and Pakistani film industry. He penned some memorable songs such as the famous nazm Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo and ''Tasveer teri dil mera beh ...

, music by

Ustad Tafu Altaf Hussain Tafu Khan (born 1945), better known as Ustad Tafu or simply Tafoo, is a Pakistani musician from Lahore, Pakistan known as a 'master tabla player'. Ustad Tafu is especially adept at playing the musical instrument ''Tabla'' . Ust ...

from film ''Khuda Aur Mohabbat'' (1978). * 'Jee Rahay Hein Hum Tanha', Sung by A. Nayyar, film song lyrics by Yonus Hamdam, music by

Karim Shahabuddin ''Karim Shahabuddin'' was a Pakistani music director who scored music in Bengali language, Bengali and Urdu films in the late 60s and early 70s. He is known for composing the song, "''Dekha Na Tha Kabhi Hum Ne Ye Samaan''" (vocalized by Alamgir ( ...

from film ''Sharmeeli'' (1978). Nayyar also ran a music academy in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nayyar, A 1955 births 2016 deaths Nigar Award winners Pakistani Christians Pakistani playback singers Pakistani ghazal singers Punjabi people Singers from Lahore Recipients of the Pride of Performance 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers