A. Nayyar

Arthur Nayyar (14 April 1950 – 11 November 2016), commonly known as A. Nayyar, was a Pakistani film playback singer.

Nayyar and Akhlaq Ahmed remained dominant playback singers of the Pakistani film industry in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s.

Nayyar was born in Chak No.148/9.L, Ranson Abad, a small village in the Sahiwal District to a Christian family.

His childhood was spent in Arifwala, Punjab, Pakistan and later he shifted to Lahore.

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

He started his career in 1974 with a duet song.

Nayyar always claimed famous singer Ahmed Rushdi as an important contributor to his career as he learned film playback singing from Rushdi.

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 by Riaz Shahid, 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.

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.

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, and Saleem Raza inspired 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, Lahore in the presence of his friends, relatives and family members.

Nayyar also ran a music academy in Lahore.