Naushad

Naushad ( Musician)

Regarded as one of the greatest music composers of Indian cinema, Naushad's was literally a journey from the footpath to the recording studios.

Born Naushad Ali on Christmas day in 1919, he spent several nights on the footpath after moving to Mumbai in the late 1930s to try his luck as a musician. The composer, who hailed from Lucknow, had cried when his film Baiju Bawra was premiered at Mumbai's Broadway theatre. When the late producer Vijay Bhat asked him why he was crying, Naushad told him he was sleeping on the footpath opposite the theatre when he had dreamt of seeing his music brought to life here. 'It took me 16 long years to cross that footpath,' he had said.

After studying under Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali and Ustad Babban Saheb, Naushad repaired harmoniums and composed for amateur theatricals before coming to Mumbai. Since childhood, he was an avid listener of the live orchestras accompanying silent films. Parental pressure to wean him away from music compelled the future maestro to run away to Mumbai in search of his dream.

He assisted Khemchand Prakash, whom he considered his teacher for a few years, and got his first break with Prem Nagar (1940). However, he was first noticed with Sharda (1942), where a 13-year old Suraiya did the playback for heroine Mehtab. Rattan (1944) took Naushad to the top and enabled him to charge Rs 25,000 a film in those days.