Master of melody

S.S. Beniwal

Bachpan ke din bhula na dena ….. (Deedar), Bachpan ki mohabat ko dil se na juda karna … (Baiju Bawra), Bachpan beeta bani mohabat chaar dino ka kehl …. (Deedar). The composer of such and other hypnotizing songs was Naushad. 

True calling

Naushad was born in Lucknow in 1920.  His father was an official in the local court who desired that his son should also follow his vocation.  Naushad began his career in the harmonium repair shop of a relative.  Repairing and tuning the harmoniums, his musical instinct was awakened.  Discarding persuasions of the family, young Naushad took a train to Bombay to pursue the career in films.  After a long struggle, which included sleeping on footpaths, assisting music directors, Naushad got the first chance to score music of film Uncha Nagar in 1940.  Then, in 1944, he directed music of film Rattan. The popularity of songs of Rattan catapulted Naushad to the top of music directors of the day.  There was no looking back.     

Popularity beckons

Naushad ushered in golden era of music in Hindi films.  He was the most popular music director in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.  Soft rhythm intermingling with sweet melody had magical effect on the listeners of his songs.  His compositions were based on Indian classical ragas and folklore.  He introduced revolutionary changes in the system of recording songs.  He did not let his orchestra overshadow the voice of singer.  The song Huay hum jin ke liye barbad… from film Deedar was without formal orchestra and termed a masterpiece.  A poet himself, Naushad meticulously chose every word of a song.    

Fraternity favourite

Be it solo, duet, chorus, bhajan, lori, quawali, he excelled in every genre of vocal and instrumental music. A perfectionist to the core, Naushad was a hard taskmaster.  Mukesh had to attend more than 20 rehearsals before recording of the song, Tu kahey agar, jeevan bhar main geet sonata jaun… for film Andaaz.  Every singer was keen to work under Naushad but Mohammad Rafi, Lata and Shamshad Begum remained his favourites.  Mahendra Kapoor became popular overnight with his first song under Naushad for film Sohni Mahiwal.  Uma Devi (Tun Tun) rose to fame with her maiden song Afsana likh rahi hoon…” in (Dard).

Naushad’s songs were for posterity. People went to cinema halls to hear his songs.  The story of the film revolved around the songs.  

The master lives on

Naushad gave music in about 67 films, 25 of which were silver, golden and diamond jubilee hits.  Some of his prominent films are Aan, Andaz, Admi, Babul, Baiju Bawra, Dilagi, Ganga Jamuna, Leader, Mother India, Mere Mehboob, Mughal-e-Azam, Shahjahan, Soni Mahiwal, Shabab, Son of India and Palki Udam Khatola.  In recognition of his contribution to the film industry, Naushad was awarded Dada Sahib Phalke award in 1981. 

This music mogul of Indian film industry breathed his last on May 5, 2006 at the age of 86 years, leaving behind his aging fans in tears. Obituary lies in his own compositions.