Arthur Nayyar (14 April 1955 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 Ahmed Rushdi (; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the Cinema of Pakistan#The Golden Era (1959–1977), golden age of Pakistani film music". Regarded as one of the gr ...

as an important contributor to his career as he learned film playback singing from Rushdi and the noted singer

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan (; 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012), known as Mehdi Hassan, was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer of great renown. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, ...

helped him improve his voice quality. Nayyar and

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed (; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a 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 started as a stage singer ...

remained dominant playback singers of the

Pakistani film industry The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including Lollywood, which mak ...

in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

Early life

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

Sahiwal District Sahiwal District (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ), formerly known as Montgomery District, is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab Subdivisions of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. In 1998, it had a population of 1, ...

to a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family. His childhood was spent in

Arifwala Ārifwāla ( Punjabi and ) is a city and headquarters of Arif Wala Tehsil of Pakpattan District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 69th largest city in Pakistan. Arifwala is located to the southwest of Pakpattan. Demographics ...

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

and later he shifted to

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He completed his matriculation from St Francis High School, Lahore and was admitted to

Forman Christian College Forman Christian College is a private nonprofit Liberal arts college, liberal arts Universities in Pakistan, university in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was founded in 1864 and is administered by the Presbyterian Church (USA), Presbyterian Church ...

. He graduated with a bachelor's 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 Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

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

, 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 is Pakistan's film industry, which has served as the base for both Urdu- and Punjabi-language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since independence in 1947. However, with the Urdu film hub largel ...

Riaz Shahid Riaz Shahid (1927 – 1 October 1972) was a Pakistani filmmaker, film writer, and a journalist. Influenced by poet Habib Jalib, who would later become a friend, Shahid frequently engaged with political activists at socialist gatherings in ...

, 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 Wajahat Attre (1945 – 26 May 2017) was a Pakistani music director who composed around 3000 songs for over 200 films. Early life Wajahat Attre was born in Puna, Gujarat, British India in 1945. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, h ...

and also used to go to noted singer

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. He was in financial crisis as the film industry had totally forgotten him. On the night of 11 November 2016 Nayyar died at his residence in Lahore of a cardiac arrest after a prolonged illness, and was buried at Christian Graveyard on Jail Road,

Awards and recognition

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

Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

in 2018.
5

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards () were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema, after having been revived in 2017 following a 15-year absence. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The ...

s during his film career * A. Nayyar won five

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards () were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema, after having been revived in 2017 following a 15-year absence. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The ...

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 – 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 excellent review ...

's film ''Ghareboan ka badshah'' in 1988 and Nigar Award for best singer in director

Sangeeta Sangeeta may refer to: Song and music * Sangita or Sangeeta, music-related performance arts in the ancient and medieval era Indian texts * '' Sangita Makarandha'', an ancient work on Indian classical music Sangeet Sangeeta *Sangeeta Bijlani ( ...

'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, 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; born 26 September 1956) 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 the 1970s and 80s. She i ...

, 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) *‘Milay do sathi khili do kaliyan’, Sung by A. Nayyar, lyrics by

Kaleem Usmani Kaleem Usmani (born Ehtisham Ilahi; 28 February 1928 28 August 2000) was a Pakistani Urdu poet who wrote ghazals, naats, patriotic songs and more than one hundred songs for thirty-seven Urdu films. He earned recognition as a lyricist by winn ...

, music by

Robin Ghosh Robin Ghosh (, ; 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. Robin Ghosh had a notable contributi ...

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

Fayyaz Hashmi Fayyaz Hashmi (; 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 behel ...

, music by Ustad Tafu 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 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 Singers from Lahore Recipients of the Pride of Performance 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers