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 remained dominant playback singers of the

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

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 language, Punjabi and ur, ), 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 ...

to a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

family. His childhood was spent in Arifwala,

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 and was admitted to Forman Christian College. 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 Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. 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 ...

, Talat Mehmood, 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 ...

by Riaz Shahid, a noted filmmaker of the time, who was searching for a singing talent for his upcoming venture ''

Bahisht ''Bahisht'' is a Pakistani family drama film produced by Neelo and written by Riaz Shahid. The film stars Nisho and Nadeem in leading roles with Nayyar Sultana, Talish, Lehri, Zamurrad and Saiqa in the supporting cast. After the censorship th ...

'' (1974). He was a student of film music director Wajahat Attre and also used to go to noted singer

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

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 Award by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.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 a ...

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 ''

'' (1974) *‘Pyar to ik din hona tha, hona tha ho gaya’, Sung by A. Nayyar with Naheed Akhtar, lyrics by Kaleem Usmani, music by

M. Ashraf M. Ashraf or Muhammad Ashraf (1 February 1942 – 4 February 2007) was a Pakistani film composer. In the early 1960s, he first started as one member of the ''music directors duo'' of ''Manzoor - Ashraf'' in the Pakistan film industry. By th ...

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, 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 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 and Nahid Akhtar) ...

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