Overview
Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006), known mononymously as Naushad, was an Indian music director and composer who worked in Hindi cinema. Active for more than six decades, he is widely regarded as one of the foremost composers of the golden era of Hindi film music, credited with integrating Hindustani classical music and folk traditions of North India into mainstream film soundtracks.
Key Facts
| Full name | Naushad Ali |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 December 1919, Lucknow, United Provinces, British India |
| Died | 5 May 2006, Mumbai, Maharashtra |
| Occupation | Music director, composer |
| Years active | 1940–2006 |
| Notable films | Rattan, Anmol Ghadi, Baiju Bawra, Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga Jamuna, Pakeezah (background score for select work) |
| Major awards | Filmfare Best Music Director (1954, for Baiju Bawra); Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1981); Padma Bhushan (1992) |
Background
Naushad was born in Lucknow, a city long associated with Hindustani classical music and Urdu literary culture, both of which would shape his compositional style. He learned harmonium and developed an early interest in classical music, ragas and the qawwali and thumri traditions of Awadh. Against his family's wishes, he moved to Bombay in the late 1930s to pursue a career in film music.
In Bombay he initially worked as an assistant to composers including Khemchand Prakash and played the harmonium in studio orchestras before being given an opportunity to compose independently.
Career
Early years
Naushad's first independent assignment as music director was the film Prem Nagar (1940). His breakthrough came with Rattan (1944), produced by Kardar Productions, whose songs became enormously popular and established him as a leading composer.
Peak period
Through the late 1940s and 1950s, Naushad became closely associated with films starring Dilip Kumar and produced by Mehboob Khan and A. R. Kardar. Notable scores from this period include:
- Anmol Ghadi (1946)
- Mela (1948)
- Andaz (1949)
- Dulari (1949)
- Babul (1950)
- Deedar (1951)
- Baiju Bawra (1952)
- Aan (1952)
- Amar (1954)
- Uran Khatola (1955)
- Mother India (1957)
- Kohinoor (1960)
- Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
- Ganga Jamuna (1961)
- Mere Mehboob (1963)
- Leader (1964)
- Dil Diya Dard Liya (1966)
- Ram Aur Shyam (1967)
Later years
From the 1970s onward, as musical tastes shifted, Naushad worked on fewer films. Later projects included Pakeezah (1972, partial contribution), My Friend, Dharam Kanta (1982) and Love and God (1986). His final film as music director was Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005).
Musical style
Naushad is credited with bringing classical raga-based music into the popular Hindi film idiom while retaining mass appeal. He frequently used ragas such as Bhairavi, Darbari, Yaman and Malkauns in film songs, and incorporated folk forms from Uttar Pradesh including thumri, dadra and chaiti. He was known for working with large orchestras, sometimes employing more than a hundred musicians, and for pioneering the integration of Indian classical instruments such as the sitar, sarod, shehnai and tabla with Western orchestration.
He had long professional associations with playback singers Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, and lyricists Shakeel Badayuni and Majrooh Sultanpuri. The Naushad–Shakeel–Rafi combination produced many of the most enduring songs of the 1950s and 1960s.
Awards and recognition
- Filmfare Award for Best Music Director (1954) for Baiju Bawra, the first year the award was instituted.
- Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1981), India's highest recognition in cinema.
- Padma Bhushan (1992), the third highest civilian honour of India.
- Lata Mangeshkar Award (Madhya Pradesh Government).
- Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Personal life
Naushad lived for much of his life in Bandra, Mumbai. He died on 5 May 2006 in Mumbai at the age of 86. A road in Bandra was later renamed Naushad Ali Marg in his memory.
Significance
Naushad's career spans the formative decades of Hindi film music, and his work helped define the aesthetic of the golden age of Bollywood music. By using classical ragas and North Indian folk material, he influenced subsequent composers including Madan Mohan, Roshan and Khayyam. His soundtrack for Mughal-e-Azam, in particular the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya picturised on Madhubala, remains among the most iconic in Indian cinema.