Datta Naik

Datta Naik (12 December 1927 – 30 December 1987), also credited as N. Datta, is a Hindi film music director. Born in the then Portuguese colony of Goa, Naik, started his career as an assistant to the legendary music director Sachin Dev Burman in films like Bahar, Sazaa and Ek Nazar (1951), Jaal (1952), Jeevan Jyoti (1953) and Angarey (1954). His partnership with songwriter Sahir Ludhianvi was popular and successful. He died on 30 December 1987.

Datta Naik alias N. Datta was born in 1927 in Aroba (Near Colvale), a small village in Goa. At the age of 12, he ran away from his family and came to Mumbai. There he learnt classical music and later worked as an assistant to Ghulam Haider. He was a close friend of Chandrakant Bhosle who was playing rhythm with Shankar Jaikishan's orchestra. He also used to participate in street music programs, where Sachin Dev Burman spotted his talent. The maestro employed him as his assistant and while working there, N. Datta also developed a notable career as an independent composer. His compositions showed a fine sense of melody and orchestration. His close association with lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi who was also his close friend ensured that his songs were always blessed by meaningful poetic lyrics. N. Datta also worked very closely with noted lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Jan Nisar Akhtar and others.

Film Dhool Ka Phool's two songs—Daman mein daag laga baithe & Tu Hindu banega na musalman banega were the best songs penned by Sahir Ludhianvi and are far better composed than other songs in that film. Noted Marathi writer and music aficionado P.L. Deshpande had once famously written that whenever he listened to Lata’s emotional Dhool Ka Phool title song ‘Too Mere Pyaar Kaa Phool Hai’ (composed by N. Datta), he got the impression that each word, each note was rendered as if a tender flower petal was gently placed in flowing water. In Naach Ghar, Lata’s silken rendition of N. Datta’s waltz based club song ‘Aye Dil Zubaan Naa Khol’ subtly exposed this materialist world’s duplicity in Sahir’s sarcastic socialist lingo.

His compositions from the B.R.Chopra Movies Dhool ka Phool, Sadhna and Dharamputra are considered as some of his best works. Songs from later movies like 'Ponch kar ashk apni aankon se', 'Maine pee sharaab, tune kya piya', 'Jaan gayi mein toh jaan gayi' from the Movie Naya Raasta (1970) and 'Tere Is Pyar Ka Shukriya' from the Movie "Aag Aur Daag" are popular too. N. Datta also composed music for a number of Marathi movies. The song "Nimbonichya jhaadaamaage chandra jhopala ga baai" sung by Suman Kalyanpur from the Movie "Bala Gau Kashi Angai (1977)" is still very popular.

N. Datta’s later years were spent fighting ill health and commercial failure. The 1980 film Chehre Pe Chehra was his last Hindi film and on December 30, 1987 he breathed his last.