Naushad Sahab Passed Away Options

[ashgupta3]

He was one of the last remaining icon of that golden era in hindi film music. He contributed in many ways, not just by his music. He had an eye to spot the talent and music industry got benefitted a lot by that. At a time when he was commanding top price for his movies, he was still doing only 1 or 2 movies at a time, and sticking to the quality rather than cashing on his popularity by signing up many movies. His life itself is a lesson on how to work hard to fulfill ur dreams and how to not lose ur head when u achieve those.

May his soul rest in peace.

[Nimii]

May His Soul rest in peace!

N

[Pradeep]

Melody mughal
Rajiv Vijaykar met Naushad a few months before he passed away last week. This is probably among the legendary composer’s last few interviews.

The gentle breeze seems to conduct a symphony. Barely a few hundred feet away, the waves cascade to a tranquil rhythm. The evergreen maestro of Hindi cinema, Naushad, in his favourite jeans-and-checked shirt outfit, relaxes on his bed on the first floor of his sea-facing bungalow in Mumbai.

His health has been quite off-key of late, but it has less to do with age than with the overwork that came with Mughal-e-Azam’s audiovisual upgrading in 2004.

On Christmas Day, 2005, Naushad Ali completed a melodic 86. It was in 1940 that Premnagar, his first film, hit the cinema halls, but his mystique hasn’t dimmed – not even when his music went out-of-sync with trends from the late ’60s. Naushad’s name has since acquired a hallowed status, his compositions the burnished gloss of objets d’art that only become more lustrous with time. Honours and awards (from the Dadasaheb Phalke trophy downwards) at home and abroad have added their weight to a distinguished career.

Says Naushad, “It is sad that my music for Taj Mahal – An Eternal Love Story did not get its due from the media and award juries. But the Prime Minister himself wrote me a congratulatory letter, which was like an award! Give me a good subject and a free hand and I would love to work on a film. A respected music critic wanted to know why I gave high-quality music in Taj Mahal when I had not been true-to-form since the ’70s. How could I when the working environment had not been conducive to good work? This time there was no compromise and the results reflected this!”

Ever the aficionado of Indian raags and folk, Naushad goes on, “I have nothing against Western music. I was the first to record with a 100-piece orchestra for Aan 54 years ago. Their instruments have variety and there is precision in their notations. But I was not playing the foxtrot or the disco with them! You can play a raag too on a violin. Their music is scientifically precise. And our music is no less scientific. Our 12 surs are related to a 24-hour cycle, as are our raags. The 12 notes are also related to the body and mind. At a place called Reno in USA, there is a music therapy center where our music has shown terrific healing powers. Before he sang for me in Mughal-e-Azam, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan developed one-sided paralysis of the body and had cured himself completely by playing Raag Purva-Dhanashree with his normal right arm!”

He adds, “We are from the land of Krishna and Shiva, from an integrated and infinitely vast treasury of poetry and raag-raaginiyaan. The synthesizer and keyboard have made our traditional musicians and their children die of poverty. One jal-tarang player even uses his instruments as katoris for meals, and they forbid their children to learn, say, a tabla. Accomplished musicians of the pakhawaj, taasha, saranga and shehnai are rare. It is even difficult to get these instruments in shops and very soon we will find them only in museums at this rate. Our government should take urgent steps to search the nooks of the nation for rare instruments and musicians, give them roti and makaan, keep them on their payroll and conserve our culture like we are conserving wildlife.”

But then Naushad has always been passion incarnate. The Maharashtra government has granted him prime land to set up an institute that will do just that. Another selfless mission that this legend has taken up for many years now is his fight for the intellectual rights of music directors and lyricists that successfully motivated the Indian Performing Rights’ Society (IPRS) to give the overseas (apart from domestic) royalties to these creators or their families and descendants. “It is satisfying to know that inn paison se kitne ghar chal rahe hain!’ he says with justified pride.

Excellent technician

Naushad has always been a first-rate technician, as his associates will testify. Way back in the ’40s, he ordered the sound engineer to devise an echo effect for a girl singing in the mountains by placing microphones at different heights so that they would pick up progressively less of the voice as a kind of primitive four-track recording for the film Rattan. When only one microphone was being used for both singers and musicians then, he used separate ‘mikes’ and became the first Indian composer to mix vocal and instrumental tracks. He even packed his regular recording studio with metal roofs with old blankets to prevent the metallic reverberation and used this technique for almost a decade till soundproofing was developed!

“But my greatest challenge,” says the composer, “came with the new version of Mughal-e-Azam. We had to add a new yet authentic stereophonic music track to the original voices of Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi and Shamshad Begum, and to the background score.

“In those days the film and the entire audio would be on one track in the film reel and could not be separated. When we had recorded the original music, there was no click-track that gave the rhythm, and we had to make a new click-track for every change of beat for the musicians. The synchronization had to be to the split-second because the stereo effect had to be generated by an additional track.”

It was six months of very hard work, and it is this that affected his health because “we would often work day and night since we had brought in 40 string musicians from the South and budgets had to be kept within limits!”

Family man

Naushad lives with his wife and three sons MA Rehman, a filmmaker, Sami-Ul-Rehman (Raju) who assists him, and Mohammed Iqbal, who is a builder. “I have six daughters, and my sons have six daughters too between them. Humne chhe ladkiyaan bidaa ki aur chhe ladkiyaan ghar aa gayi!” he smiles. He rewinds to the time when he had an arranged marriage. “My father in Lucknow was against my joining films and he told my in-laws that I was a tailor in Mumbai! When my wedding ceremony was on, the band was playing one of my songs!”

When in Mumbai, the maestro spends time writing shaayari, which has always been a hobby. “Shaayari is more difficult than making music,” he declares. “Some years ago, I published a collection of poems titled Aanthwaan Sur. I also travel a lot as I have friends in UK and US and four of my six daughters are based in America.”

Memories

Naushad is a fount of memories, of years of playing early morning badminton with Dilip Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Mohammed Rafi and Johnny Walker at the Bandra Gymkhana. “We were at it for decades. I also had a machan and was a member of the Maharashtra State Angling Association where I would go once a week to a Mumbai lake as late as till last year,” says the composer. “In the late ’60s, I had a bout of ill-health and took to hunting under medical advice. For holidays I loved Igatpuri, a small hill resort where I would go with family and friends.”

Naushad had a lot of time to devote to both music and family, with less than 70 films (including one each in Malayalam and Bhojpuri) and a few TV serials to his credit.

If he feels fulfilled at having given career-defining breaks to a number of artistes like Mohammed Rafi, Uma Devi, Suraiya, Majrooh Sultanpuri and Shakeel Badayuni, he also cannot forget Dinanath Madhok, writer-lyricist and filmmaker, who fought for Naushad’s first break. “He told the producers of Premnagar that if I did not deliver, they could cut the losses from his salary!”

A very fond memory was of the creation of the classic “Pyar kiya to darna kya” from Mughal-e-Azam along with Shakeel Badayuni.

“Shakeel was a simple soul, a moulvi’s son who was very pure at heart. In this case, nothing was working to our satisfaction,” smiles the music legend reminiscently. “So around sunset we went up to my terrace and kept on working on the words and the tune. We never had dinner, did not think even of water or sleep, and as the sun rose the next day, the song was finally ready! That is why the song is as fresh 45 years later!”

http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/m...53592006512.asp

[Pradeep]

TRIBUTE
Naushad Ali, the Greatest
M.L. Dhawan

One of the finest music composers in Indian cinema, Naushad was equally at ease with both Indian and Western classical music. Awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1981, he leaves behind an unforgettable legacy


From day one, Naushad wanted to popularise Indian folk and classical music

Naushad Ali, last monarch of the musical empire, died leaving behind a treasure trove of songs seeped in poetry. Right from Prem Nagar (1940) to Taj Mahal- An Eternal Love Story, he enriched Hindi film music with the timeless intensity of his compositions.

Wahid Ali was a munshi in the court in Lucknow and he wanted his son Naushad Ali to do something similar, but young Naushad's mind was musical. He began his career repairing harmoniums in Lucknow. Wahid Ali felt that his community would not appreciate the fact that his son had taken up music to earn a livelihood. On Divali, he berated Naushad and told him to choose either music or home. Naushad walked out of his home, saying, "Aapko aapka ghar mubarak, mujhe mera sangeet."

After he came to Bombay he had to struggle a lot. He even slept on the footpath in Dadar. He assisted Ustad Jhande Khan and Khem Chand Prakash and became a full-fledged music director with the unremarkable Prem Nagar (1940). However, Akhiyan mila ke jiya bharmake chaley nahin jana and Milke bichad gayee aakhiyan from Kardar Production's Rattan catapulted him to fame. Jawan hai mohabat, Mere bachpan ke saathi mujhe bhool na jana, Aawaz de kahan hai... were chiselled by Naushad for Noorjehan's bass voice in Anmol Ghadi but Suraiya vied with Noorjehan with her Socha tha kya kya hogaya... With the popularity of these numbers, sky was the limit for him.

From day one, while composing for films, Naushad wanted to popularise the Indian folk and classical music. The score of Baiju Bawra was a step towards that end.

Seasoned classical vocalists D.V. Paluskar and Ustad Amir Khan sang along with Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. Lata was so overwhelmed by the tune and lyrics of Mohe bhool gaye sanwariya that she broke down in the middle of the recording.

Who can forget Meena Kumari's embarassed expressions in Tu ganga ki mauj?

Naushad never felt tired of telling one and all that the songs Man tadpat Hari darshan ko aaj, O duniyan ke rakhwale sun dard bhare more naley, Insaan bano karlo bhalayee ka koi kaam were perfect examples of national integration. On the day of premier of Baiju Bawra at the Broadway Theatre in Dadar, the producer asked Naushad how did he feel. Looking to the other side of the footpath where he used to sleep when he came to Bombay, with a lump in throat, he remarked, "Janaab, us footpath se yahan tak aane mein 16 saal lag gaye".

Naushad’s tunes came straight from the heart and he agonised over tunes and phrases, spent sleepless nights and worked until he achieved perfection.

Mukesh went to his house 23 times just to rehearse the Andaaz song Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar...

According to Naushad, his life's best was created in Mughal-e-Azam. The biggest challenge he had to face was to get the audience to tear its transfixed gaze away from Madhubala's ethereal visage and to listen to the songs. Naushad extracted a fine performance from Lata in Mohabat ki jhooti kahani pe roye, Hamein kash tum se mohabbat na hoti, Khuda nigh-e-baan ho tumhara, etc. Inspired by a folk song from eastern Uttar Pradesh, Prem kiya kya chori kari hai.., Naushad created a paramount paen to romantic rebellion Pyar kiya to darna kya, Mohe panghat pe Nandlal ched gayo re.. sung by Anarkali dancing like Meera in the palace of Akbar sends the audience in a trance even now.

Naushad had recorded 20 songs for Mughal-e-Azam, 10 of them no one ever heard including a classical Shamshad Begum-Mubarak Begum-Lata Mangeshkar number Husn ki baraat chali. Prem jogan ban jaoon.. in the voice of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan remains the most sensual song in Hindi cinema.

Situational numbers like Duniyan mein hum aaye hain to jeena hee padega, Nagri nagri dware dware, Umariaya ghati jaye re etc made the music of Mother India a landmark. Ganga-Jamuna tackled a subject from Uttar Pradesh and Naushad infused the score with a folksy rhythm indigenous to the region in Nain lad jaihen toh manva mein kasak hoibe kari, Do hanso ka joda bichad gayo re, Dhoondho re sajana more kaan ka baala, etc.

Naushad proved his staying power by giving hits right from Prem Nagar, Rattan, Anmol Ghadi, Shah Jehan, Amar, Deedar, Andaaz in the 1940s to Ram Aur Shyam, Admi, Saathi, etc in the sixties. In between came films Aan, Baiju Bawra, Mother India, Ganga-Jamuna, Mughal-e-Aazam, Kohi-i-noor, to mention only the best.

A staunch critic of the influences of Western music, Naushad used Indian classical and folk music in about 67 films. Naushad could handle varied genres of music. Nothing was difficult for him. Be it a romantic number Suhani raat dhal chuki, a ghazal Tasveer banata hoon teri khoon-e-jigar se, a bhajan Madhuban mein Radhika nache re or a patriotic song Apni aazadi ko hum hargiz mita sakte nahin or a qawwali Mehlon mein rehne wali humein tere dar se kiya or a tipsy number Mujhe duniya walo sharabi na samjho..

Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh, Kumar Barabunki, Madhok, etc toiled to give Naushad their best. Among the singers it was primarily Mohammed Rafi and Lata.

From the 1970s, Naushad took a backseat when his scores in Ganwar, Aaina, Dharam Kanta, Teri Payal Mere Geet, Guddu tended to be uncomfortable compromises. The golden melodies that he had created in his heyday endured and remained timeless.

Gham diye mustaqil, Jab dil hee toot gaya, Mera jeewan saathi bichad gaya, Na milta gham to barbadi ke afsane kahan jate, Jane wale se mulagaat na hone payee, Yeh kaun aaya, etc were chartbusters in their eras.

In his last film Taj Mahal-An Eternal Love Story, Naushad spun enchanting melodies like Mumtaz tujhe dekha, Ajnabi thehro zarra, Apne shaane ko etc. They have his stamp as well as a contemporary flavour. Naushad proved that legends never fade away, but reinvent themselves.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060514/spectrum/main7.htm

[Pradeep]

COMMENT: Naushad reigned supreme when melody was queen — Ishtiaq Ahmed




Baiju Bawra remains the greatest musical film ever made in India. It was truly a compliment to Gandhi and Nehru’s secularism that the music of a film with a Hindu theme was the result of the artistic devotion of three Muslims — Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni (lyricist) and Mohammad Rafi

The death of the great Indian music-director, Naushad Ali (born Lucknow, December 25, 1919 died Mumbai, May 5, 2006) deeply saddened me. I never had the opportunity to meet him, although I visited Mumbai in 1999 and 2001. Both trips were in connection with my research on the pre-partition Punjab and Naushad Sahib, a Lucknavi, did not fit into that schedule. Anyone who has a few days to trace people and interview would know that Mumbai is the last place one wants to go to do that. A taxi drive of a few miles can take hours and getting hold of pre-partition Punjabis in the city is a daunting task.

I remember that on the last day of my 2001 trip my taxi driver, Haji Salim, a gem of a man, showed me the house where the immortal Mohammad Rafi (died 1980) lived. We then telephoned Naushad Sahib but were told that he was not at home. The next day I left for Delhi on my way to Stockholm. Now, I will have to live with this gnawing sense of un-fulfilment for the rest of my life. As we get older such a feeling can become a constant torment and my list of missed opportunities is getting longer and longer.

My late mother told me that the first song I started singing when still very young, perhaps just three years old, was Naushad’s “Tootay na dil toote na, saath hamara chootay na” rendered for Andaaz (1949) by another great singer, in fact the one whom nature had gifted with a natural pathos and a deep resonance that nobody could equal — the late Mukesh (died 1976).

For my mother that song was particularly dear because at that time my father was in the process of marrying his third wife and the idea of “Saath hamara chootay na” was her desperate hope not to be abandoned just when she was getting old. The divorce happened in 1950. She had to fend for herself amid very difficult circumstances. She left Lahore and settled in Karachi. I used to visit her during the summer vacations. Is this personal history necessary to pay homage to Naushad Sahib? Yes and no. At the end of this article I will explain the connection.

I am convinced that Naushad was the king when melody was queen in film music. There were many other great composers too. From the time he composed the music of Rattan in 1944 and Shahjahan in 1946 and till the end of the 1950s the most memorable songs, the most gifted and creative music directors and the most imaginative song-writers pooled their talent to create eternal melodies.

Besides Naushad, there was Khemchand Prakash (whom Naushad initially assisted) Anil Biswas, Shanker-Jaikishen, SD Burman., Madan Mohan, Roshan, OP Nayyar, C Ramchandra, Husn Lal Bhagat Ram and many others. From Naushad’s “Sawan ke badlo un se ye jaa kaho” sung by Zohrabai Ambalawali and Karan Diwan from Rattan (1944) and “O door ke musafir hum ko bhi saath leley hum reh gaye akeley” in Urankhatola (1955), which only Mohammad Rafi could have sung — these were 16 years that he reigned supreme. Indeed the genius of the great Rafi came to perfection under Naushad’s direction during those years.

Naushad created magic for a number of AR Kardar productions, Shahjahan, Dillagi, Dulari and Dard and for Mehboob Khan’s Anokhi Ada, Andaaz and Aan. Additionally he composed some memorable songs for Rafi in Deedar, Baiju Bawra and Shabab; Mukesh in not only Andaaz but also Mela and Anokhi Ada; and, Talat Mahmood in Babul. He also made the best use of female voices such as that of Suraiya, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeskar. He had KL Saigol sing for him in Shahjahan and Noorjahan in Anmol Gahri.

I am sure everybody who understands music would agree that Baiju Bawara (1952) was Naushad Sahib’s greatest musical wonder. I am willing even to say that Baiju Bawra remains the greatest musical film ever made in India. It was truly a compliment to Gandhi and Nehru’s secularism that the music of a film with a Hindu theme was the result of the artistic devotion of three Muslims — Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni (lyricist) and Mohammad Rafi.

Mehboob Khan’s Mother India (1957) and K Asif’s Mughal-e-Azam (1960) which followed later also had music by Naushad and became great successes at the box-office. They contain some very beautiful songs. The team of Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Mohammad Rafi and Dilip Kumar was one of the most outstanding in the Indian film industry.

For some reason, Naushad had exhausted his creativity when the 1960s set in. Songs such as “Mere mahboob tujhe meri mohabbat ki qasam” and “Do hanson ka jora bichar gaya re” which some people consider great songs never made any impression on me.

Returning to my singing debut that started when I was only two or three and which continues to be my way of escaping from the chores around me, there is an anecdote I would like to share with you. Whenever my mother and I were out walking on a road in Karachi I would start singing, as was my habit from childhood. She found that embarrassing and ordered me to either walk in front or behind her.

Now, I am approaching 60. When my sons and I are walking on a road here in Stockholm and I start singing they protest that people are staring at us. However, now I can tell them to walk either in front or behind me. The power equation has changed and I have the advantage.

I told this story to the late Urdu writer, Saeed Anjum, who lived in Oslo and used to visit us in Stockholm. He said that it was enough for him to write a short, a very short story, an “afsancha” as he called it. Unfortunately he died suddenly some years ago. I have no choice therefore but to tell that afsancha myself, and what better way to do it than while paying my sincerest tribute to Naushad Sahib who gave me the first song that connects my life story to my mother and my sons’ common front against my singing.

The author is an associate professor of political science at Stockholm University. He is the author of two books. His email address is Ishtiaq.Ahmed@statsvet.su.se




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