Naushad

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Naushad Ali
Born December 25, 1919(1919-12-25)
United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, British Raj
Died May 5, 2006 (aged 86)
Genre(s) Classical
Indian film music
Years active 1940–2005

Naushad Ali (Nastaliq: نوشاد علی,Devanagari: नौशाद अली) (December 25, 1919 – May 5, 2006) was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors (composers) for Bollywood films.

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[edit] Biography

Naushad was raised in Lucknow, a city with a long tradition as a center of refined North Indian culture. He studied classic Hindustani music there under Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali, Ustad Babban Saheb, and others.

[edit] Music career

Naushad moved to Mumbai in the late 1930s to try his luck as a musician. After initial rebuffs, he got a job as a musician in a studio orchestra. He scored his first film in 1940. From 1942 until the late 1960s, he was one of the top music directors in Bollywood.

Naushad worked with several lyricists, including Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, D. N. Madhok, Zia Sarhadi, and Barabankvi.

[edit] Semi-retirement

As Indian film music gradually assumed a Western bend starting in the late 1960s, Naushad came to be considered old-fashioned. Composers who could compose rock-and-roll and disco-inflected music started getting increasingly popular. Naushad was still esteemed as a maestro, but his talents were sought mostly for historical movies where traditional scores were appropriate.

In 1981, Naushad was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. In 1995 he gave music for Shah Rukh Khan starrer, Guddu the music was a hit. In 2004, when a colorized version of the classic Mughal-e-Azam was released, Naushad was a guest of honor at the premiere[1].

Naushad's last music composition was for the movie, Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005), which was directed by Akhbar Khan.

Naushad passed away on May 5, 2006 in Mumbai.

[edit] Music style

Naushad was known for his deft adaptation of the classical musical tradition for movies. For some movies like Baiju Bawra, he composed all scores in classical raga modes. He could easily work with Western instruments, including the clarinet, the mandolin, and the accordion. He could incorporate Western musical idioms in his compositions, and compose for Western-style orchestras.

[edit] Partial filmography

Music direction:

  • Dard
  • Dulari
  • Dillagi
  • Candni Raat
  • Aadmi
  • Ram aur Shyam
  • Awaaz De Kahan Hay
  • Teri Payal Mere Geet
  • Guddu
  • Ganwar
  • Tangewal
  • Dharam Kante
  • Shabab

Malayalam

  • Dwani (1988)

Producer:

[edit] Awards and recognition

  • Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1992.
  • "Naushad Ali", a 30-minute documentary film produced by Television Center, Bombay, in 1975.

[edit] References

  1. ^ rediff.com: The Epic Premieres Again!

[edit] External links