Naushad Biography: (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) Naushad Ali was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential music directors in the Hindi film industry. He is renowned for popularising the use of classical music in motion pictures.
1940 marked his debut as an independent music director with Prem Nagar. Rattan (1944) was his first musically successful film, followed by 35 silver jubilee songs, 12 golden jubilee hits, and 3 diamond jubilee mega hits. In 1981 and 1992, respectively, Naushad was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award and the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to the Hindi film industry.
Naushad Biography
Early Years and Education
Lucknow has a lengthy history as a centre of Indian Muslim culture, where Naushad Ali was born and raised. His father, Wahid Ali, was a court assistant (munshi). As a child, Naushad would attend the annual fair at the Deva Sharif in Barabanki, 25 kilometres from Lucknow, where the greatest qawwals and musicians of the era would perform for the devotees. There, he was instructed in Hindustani music by Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali, Ustad Babban Saheb, and others. Moreover, he repaired harmoniums.
As a youth, he entered a junior theatrical club and was appointed music director for the club’s theatrical performances. He frequently attended the Royal Theatre in Lucknow to view silent films. The tabla, harmonium, sitar, and violin would be performed by a group of musicians hired by the theatre proprietors. The musicians would first view the film, take notes, and finalise the requisite scales. When the evening performance began, they would sit in front of the screen and play music to accompany the scenes. This was a fantastic method to learn music while also being entertained. It enabled him to comprehend the subtleties necessary for composing a film’s background music score.
Eventually, Naushad formed his own Windsor Music Entertainers or simply Windsor Entertainers, so named because he had encountered the word “Windsor” in Lucknow and enjoyed its sound. It led to the Indian Star Theatrical Company in a theatre in Lucknow’s Golaganj colony.
Pandit Kishan Maharaj Biography: Age, Early Life, Career, Awards, Death, Facts
Naushad Career
In Mumbai, Naushad Saheb was a music director who lodged with a friend from Lucknow (U.P.) in Colaba before moving to Dadar across from the Broadway Theatre. He assisted music director Ustad Jhande Khan for Rs 40 per month and collaborated with a Russian producer on a film. He then served as a pianist in Ustad Mushtaq Hussain’s orchestra and was credited as the composer’s assistant. At a monthly salary of Rs 60, Khemchand Prakash hired him as his aide for the film Kanchan at Ranjit Studios. His companion, lyricist D.
N. Madhok believed in Naushad’s exceptional ability to compose music and introduced him to numerous film producers. Naushad composed a thumri for the 1939 Punjabi film Mirza Sahib and his 1940 debut film Prem Nagar. Beginning with A.R. Kardar’s 1942 film Nayi Duniya, Naushad served as a music director in Hindi films until the late 1960s. He collaborated with Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, D. N. Madhok, Zia Sarhadi, Yusufali Kechery, and Khumar Barabankvi, among others. Mother India (1957) was the first Indian film to receive an Oscar nomination.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was given to Naushad in 1981 for his lifetime contributions to Indian cinema. At the age of 86, he composed the music for Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). On his life and work, five films have been made, including Dastaan-E-Naushad (Marathi) by Shashikant Kinikar, Aaj Gaawat Man Mero (Gujarati), and Hindi and Urdu biographical vignettes in Shama & Sushma Magazines, titled “Naushad Ki Kahani, Naushad Ki Zuban” and “Notes of Naushad.”
Personal Life
He is survived by six daughters Zubeda, Fehmida, Farida, Sayeeda, Rashida, and Waheeda and three sons Rehman Naushad, Raju Naushad & Iqbal Naushad. Being the oldest, Rehman Naushad assisted him with some of his films. In addition, Naushad composed music for two films directed by Rahman Naushad, including My Friend (1974) and Teri Payal Mere Geet (1989).
Naushad Legacy and death
Naushad passed away in Mumbai on 5 May 2006 at the age of 86 due to a cardiac arrest. He was laid to rest at the Juhu Muslim cemetery.
Naushad was regarded as one of the most accomplished and esteemed music directors in the Indian Film Industry. Naushad had requested that the Maharashtra State Government approve an allotment for a Hindustani music promotion institution. The ‘Naushad Academy of Hindustani Sangeet’ was established during his lifetime.
 Naushad Ali was an Indian music director for Hindi films.){kind=link}