As a tribute to him, Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari spotlight nine of his musical scores that mark his creative crescendo.

Aar Par (1954)

This Guru Dutt film was O P Nayyar's breakthrough hit, coming two years after the music director had made his movie debut with Aasman. Geeta Dutt (who had sung the seductive Dekho jadoo bhare more nain in Aasman) was the one who introduced the tall, thin, struggling but arrogant composer to her husband; and the result was the formation of a terrific team.

Aar Paar's musical mood is one of flirtatious gaiety and sheer light-headedness. Nayyar liked full-throated voices: so while the wonderful Shamshad Begum held her own in the title song, Geeta sang her heart out in a string of glittering gems for heroine Shyama (Yeh lo main haari) as well as vamp Shakila (the superhit Babuji dheere chalna). Nayyar also brought out the innate anguish in Geeta's voice in the film's only two sad numbers -- Ja ja aj bewafaa and Hoon abhi main jawan, aye dil.

Besides being a landmark score for Nayyar, Aar Par was also Guru Dutt's first hit as an actor and a comeback for lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri after his Shahjehan-Andaaz heydays in the 1940s. When Majrooh dashed off the Arrey wah-wah-wah-wah aisa kaisa jadoo refrain, even Nayyar baulked; but the resultant melody defines the film. Rafi's voice too took on an added jauntiness with Nayyar's new Punjabi sound.