New Delhi

Legendary singer Asha Bhosle often credited composer O P Nayyar with transforming her career and helping her emerge from the shadow of her elder sister Lata Mangeshkar.

Their creative partnership, which later ended on a bitter note, remains one of the most influential collaborations in Hindi film music. Details of their association are recounted in Asha Bhosle: A Musical Biography by Raju Bharatan.

Bhosle, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 92, had said Nayyar helped her overcome what she described as a “Lata phobia”.

“Say what you like about the man but he made me. What was I in front of Lata Mangeshkar until Nayyar saab took me in hand? He rid me of my Lata phobia,” she was quoted as saying in the book.

During the early 1950s, many composers preferred Mangeshkar’s voice and often expected Bhosle to sing in a similar higher pitch and style. Nayyar, however, recognised a different strength in her voice.

Bhosle said he noticed her rich lower register and her long breath control, qualities he frequently used in slow, emotional and melancholic compositions.

Instead of moulding her into someone else’s style, Nayyar composed songs tailored to her natural voice. The result was a string of classics that defined an era of Hindi cinema music.

Among their best-known songs were Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar from C.I.D., Bahut Shukriya Badi Meherbani from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, and the haunting Main Shayad Tumhare Liye Ajnabi Hoon and Yehi Woh Jagah Hai from Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi.

Bhosle also named Jaadoogar Saanwariyaa from Dhake Ki Malmal and Raaton Ko Chori Chori from Mohabbat Zindagi Hai among her personal favourites.

She recalled that unlike many composers who insisted on strict adherence to compositions, Nayyar encouraged improvisation and experimentation.

Bhosle also praised his command over Urdu diction and said he paid close attention to pronunciation so that every word in a song stood out clearly.

She further described him as an excellent singer who could communicate the emotional nuances of a composition better than many playback singers.

“I would even say that neither Mohammed Rafi nor I could do cent per cent justice to the way Nayyar saab composed and sang his songs,” she had said.

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Though the two later became estranged, Bhosle maintained deep admiration for his artistry, calling him a revolutionary trendsetter whose originality inspired many imitators but remained unmatched.