Presenting Naushad : Part 6

Rise to fame and self-confidence

Naushad was a taskmaster. He took his assignments very seriously. For his early films he would study the script, understand the genre and compose according to the mood of the film. Often he would travel to the exact part of India where the story was based and find out more about the local dialect, the folk music prevalent in that area and then set his tunes accordingly. 

He was an artist who grew in confidence. He developed his craft in steps and ventured into areas never seen in Indian films. The orchestration was completely overhauled under his direction. Naushad's early struggle and pains are reflected in many of his songs, of course through their tunes. But I have a feeling that the grandeur and opulent use of bandishes (Indian classical music composition) and musical instruments in some of his songs might have been a testimonial of his ambition to display something very huge so that it fitted in contrast to the struggles that he had been through.

Despite all his successes in Bombay, he was largely unknown in his hometown and also among his relatives, including his own parents. This was the case for a long time! There is a funny anecdote - when he was getting married, the musical band organized by his family were playing songs of Rattan. But apparently, Naushad's father was unaware that his son was the composer of these songs!

After the success of Rattan, Naushad caught the attention of the great Mahboob Khan, the director with whom he would have a long association. I would like to mention an anecdote that I remember to have heard from Naushad's own words on a television program. It goes like this - there was a time when Naushad would spend days and nights on the footpath of Bombay and would just catch a glimpse of the great Mehboob Khan coming to the studio. Then, one day, when Mehboob Khan showed a poster of his film which had music by Naushad, Naushad told Mehboob that his dream has finally come true. The poster was hung on a board atop the footpath. He made an ironical comment - it took many years to cross the footpath and come this far!

Naushad was by temperament a dreamer but also a man of principles. Together with the other stalwarts of Indian Film Music, he formed a close group to groom and teach talented newcomers. One such newcomer was Suraiya whom he discovered and gave a first break to sing in films. While he was hunting for such talents, he was completely aware of the fact that quality of singing should never be compromised. He was a lifelong believer of training and riyaz (practice of Indian Classical music for voice training) to become a good singer.

Throughout the 1940's and a good part of 1960's Naushad was one of the topmost composers of Indian films. His name was enough to ensure success of a film. He achieved a cult status in the industry and was very well paid. However, he never craved for money, he craved for good work. He believed work brings fame and prosperity. 

In the upcoming editions, we will look deeper into some of his amazing compositions which he created over the years.

[To be continued]

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