Naushad

Naushad was a famous music maker.

He loved old kinds of music. He used these sounds in his films. This helped many people learn to love them.

He was very good at using instruments. He used the flute and the sitar. He even used the accordion.

His music was a huge hit. Many of his films were very popular. They played in theaters for a long time.

People still remember him today. He was a great master of music.

Naushad Ali was a famous music director in India.

Naushad loved classical music. He used old musical styles called ragas in his films. At first, some people thought this would be too hard to hear. Naushad wanted to change what people liked. He wanted them to love their own culture. It worked! His film *Baiju Bawra* won him a big award in 1954.

He was very good with instruments. He used the sitar and the flute. He also used the accordion. He was the first to use a 100-piece orchestra for the film *Aan*. He even recorded music in quiet gardens at night. He did this because studios had tin roofs that made too much noise.

Many of his films were huge hits. Some played in theaters for 60 weeks or more. These were called diamond jubilee hits. His music helped many people enjoy Indian traditions. He is still remembered as a master of film music.

Naushad Ali was one of the most important music directors in the history of Hindi films. People in the film industry respectfully called him "Moseeqar-e-azam," which means "the great musician." He is best known for bringing Indian classical music into popular movies. This was a big deal because he wanted to share traditional sounds with everyone. He believed people should experience the music of their own culture. His work helped change what audiences liked to hear in theaters.

Making music for films required many different skills. Naushad was a talented piano player and could also repair harmoniums. He learned how to write music by watching silent films at the Royal theatre in Lucknow. In those days, musicians sat in front of the screen to play live music for the scenes. This helped him understand how to use sound to match a story's mood. He was also a pioneer in technical ways of recording. He was among the first to use sound mixing and to record voices and music separately.

Naushad's journey began in the city of Lucknow. He grew up in a home with a long history of Indian Muslim culture. As a young boy, he visited fairs to hear great musicians perform. He studied Hindustani music under several teachers, including Ustad Ghurbat Ali. Even though his father did not want him to study music, Naushad stayed dedicated to his passion. He eventually moved to Mumbai in late 1937 to start his career. He worked very hard, sometimes even sleeping on the footpath to make his dreams come true.

His career was full of incredible success and big numbers. His first independent film was *Prem Nagar* in 1940. The film *Rattan* in 1944 became a massive hit and helped him reach the top. He composed 65 films during his lifetime. Many of these were huge successes, such as 26 silver jubilee hits and 4 diamond jubilee hits. A diamond jubilee means a film played for 60 weeks or more. In 1954, he won the first Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film *Baiju Bawra*.

Naushad used many different sounds to create his unique style. He mixed traditional instruments like the sitar and flute with Western ones like the accordion and clarinet. For the film *Aan* in 1952, he was the first to use a huge 100-piece orchestra. Because early studios had tin roofs that made too much noise, he sometimes recorded in quiet gardens after midnight. He also worked with famous singers like Mohammad Rafi. His legacy lives on through the Naushad Academy of Hindustani Sangeet, which was formed to promote traditional music.

Naushad Ali was a legendary composer for Hindi films. He is often called "Moseeqar-e-azam," which means "the great musician." He changed how people experienced movies by bringing Indian classical music into the mainstream. Before him, many thought classical music was too difficult for general audiences. Naushad disagreed and wanted to share the beauty of Indian culture with everyone. He believed that audiences should be challenged with high-quality music rather than just hearing what was easy.

Naushad's musical education began in Lucknow. This city was a major center for Indian Muslim culture. As a boy, he visited the annual Deva Sharif fair in Barabanki. There, he watched great qawwals and musicians perform for devotees. He studied Hindustani music under several teachers, such as Ustad Ghurbat Ali. He also learned the mechanics of music by repairing harmoniums. His early interest in cinema grew while watching silent films at the Royal theatre. In those days, musicians sat in front of the screen to play live music. They played instruments like the tabla, sitar, and violin to match the film's scenes. This helped him learn how to use music to express the emotions of a story.

His journey to professional success was difficult. In 1937, he moved to Mumbai to pursue music. He lived very simply and sometimes slept on the footpath near the Broadway theatre. He started by working as an assistant to established music directors. He earned a monthly salary of only Rs 40 while assisting Ustad Jhande Khan. Later, he worked as a pianist in Ustad Mushtaq Hussain's orchestra. He also served as an assistant to Khemchand Prakash at Ranjit Studios. Naushad felt a deep sense of gratitude toward Khemchand, whom he called his guru. These early roles taught him the technical skills needed to lead his own orchestra.

Naushad became an independent music director with the film *Prem Nagar* in 1940. He conducted deep research into the folk music of Kutch to compose for that film. His career reached a turning point with the film *Rattan* in 1944. This movie was a massive success and helped him become a top composer. He could then charge Rs 25,000 per film, which was a very high amount at the time. The music from *Rattan* was so popular that the company earned Rs 3 lacs from gramophone sales in just one year. Throughout his life, he composed music for 65 films. His work resulted in 26 silver jubilee hits, 12 golden jubilee hits, and 3 diamond jubilee hits. A diamond jubilee means a film ran in theaters for 60 weeks or more.

Technically, Naushad was a true innovator in the recording studio. He was one of the first to use sound mixing techniques. He also pioneered the separate recording of voice and music tracks in playback singing. In the early 1940s, studios had tin roofs that caused echoes. To get a cleaner sound, Naushad sometimes recorded in quiet gardens after midnight. He also experimented with how voices were recorded to create impact. For films like *Uran Khatola*, he would record a voice on a scale of 90, then 70, then 50. This allowed him to control the emotional weight of a scene. He was also a master of combining different musical worlds. He mixed the flute with the clarinet and the sitar with the mandolin. He even introduced the accordion to Hindi film music.

Naushad's style was defined by his use of classical ragas. He often used the Bhairavi raga in his compositions. For the film *Baiju Bawra* in 1952, he composed the entire score using classical raga modes. He even hired the famous vocalist Amir Khan as a music consultant for the film. This project earned him the very first Filmfare Best Music Director Award in 1954. He continued to use great classical artists in his work, such as Bade Ghulam Ali Khan for the film *Mughal-e-Azam*. He also pushed the limits of scale. For the film *Aan* in 1952, he became the first composer to use a 100-piece orchestra. His ability to blend Western instruments with Indian traditions made his music unique.

His influence reached far beyond the film industry. *Mother India* in 1957 was the first Indian film to be nominated for an Oscar. Naushad also expressed his creativity through poetry. He published a book of Urdu poetry titled *Aathwaan Sur*, which means "The Eighth Note." He was recognized with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1981 and the Padma Bhushan in 1992. To ensure his passion lived on, the Naushad Academy of Hindustani Sangeet was formed. This institution was created to promote the traditional music he loved so much. Even at age 86, he was still composing, working on the music for *Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story* in 2005.