"MSV CLUB" - The Discussion Forum of MSVTimes.com

[S.Balaji]

I thought, it will be most befitting to have an exclusive thread for this incomparable genius of Hindi films.
Revered as his inspiration by our Master MSV, this man was a trend setter to Hindustani music & a top class performer , someone who could sustain for a very lengthy tenure . A good friend of MSV , Naushad also had been keenly observing the music of tamil cinema .
It was a great moment when Naushad himself was present to release a book on MSV earlier. Must be a memorable day for the Master who even refused to sit alongside Naushad as a mark of respect !
Well , such is the level of devotion, MSV has over him !

http://www.upperstall.com/people/naushad.html

Naushad Ali is regarded as one of the greatest Music Directors of Indian Cinema. Since early childhood in Lucknow he was an avid listener to the live orchestras accompanying silent films. He studied under Ustad Ghurbat Ali, Ustad Yusuf Ali and Ustad Babban Saheb. Before coming to Bombay, he repaired harmoniums and composed for amateur theatricals such as the Windsor Music Entertainers.

He moved to Bombay in the late 1930s to try his luck as a musician but had to really struggle and saw days of acute deprivation. He even had to spend nights on the footpath before he worked as a pianist in composer Mushtaq Hussain's orchestra. He joined music director Khemchand Prakash (whom he considers his teacher) as his assistant.

Prem Nagar (1940) was his first Independent break but he first got noticed with Sharda (1942) wherein 13-year-old Suraiya did the playback for heroine Mehtab. It was Rattan (1944) that took Naushad right to the top and enabled him to charge Rs 25,000 a film then. Ankhiyaan Milake and Sawan ke Badalon became the most popular songs of the day.

Naushad churned out hit after hit in the 1940s mainly in the films of A.R. Kardar - Shahjehan (1946), Dard (1947), Dillagi (1949), Dulari (1949) and Mehboob Khan - Anmol Ghadi (1946), Elaan (1947), Anoki Ada (1948), Andaaz (1949). Naushad was among the early composer who gave Lata Mangeshkar an opportunity to sing and Andaaz and Dulari were instrumental in her rise to the top along with Mahal and Barsaat that year.

Naushad was one of the first to introduce sound mixing and the separate recording of voice and music tracks in playback singing. He was the first to combine the flute and the clarinet, the sitar and mandolin. He also introduced the accordion to Hindi film music and was among the first to concentrate on background music to extend characters' moods and dialogues through music.

But perhaps Naushad's greatest contribution was to bring Indian classical music into the film medium. Many of his compositions were inspired by Ragas and he even used distinguished classical artistes like Amir Khan and D.V. Pulaskar in Baiju Bawra (1952) and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan in Mughal-e-Azam (1960). Baiju Bawra demonstrated Naushad's grasp of classical music. To quote India's greatest playback singer Lata Mangeshkar who sang for him in the film.

"The music he composed for Baiju Bawra surprised even me. It was entirely different from what he had done before. Different ragas were used for different situations and the purity of the ragas were maintained to the greatest possible extent."


Naushad has been criticized about the lack of variety in his music but that is unfounded. He could compose with a 100-man orchestra as he did in Aan (1952) and could go Western if the situation demanded it (Jadoo (1951)). Naushad used to study every aspect of his tunes thoroughly. If he weren't satisfied with even one word, he would ask the lyricist to write the whole line. He would take a fortnight to compose a single song and often could compose music for just two films a year. To quote him,

"In my 62 years in the film industry, I composed music for 66 films. These days, you come across people who have done the music 200 films in two years. What I'm saying is that, we used to agonise over every tune and phrase in music, spend sleepless nights over a song, and work on it until it was perfected. And I am still looking for perfection."

This reduced workload worked to his advantage as he went on to score the music for perennial classics - Mother India (1957), Mughal-e-Azam (1960), Ganga Jamuna (1961) and Mere Mehboob (1963). In Mughal-e-Azam, Naushad's musical score was outstanding particularly the two songs by noted classical singer Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (Shubh Din Aayo and Prem Jogan ke Sundari Pio Chali) not to mention the Lata Gems (Mohabbat ki Jhooti Kahani pe Roye, Pyaar Kiya to Darna Kya) and Mohd. Rafi's Ae Mohabbat Zindabad with a chorus of 100! It was indeed shocking that Naushad lost the Filmfare award that year to Shankar-Jaikishen for their populist score in Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi (1960).

With the 1960s and the decline of Dilip Kumar, Naushad who used to compose music for most of the thespian's film also suffered a reversal of fortune as film after film of theirs came unstuck at the box-office. Naushad completed Pakeezah (1972) after Ghulam Mohammed's death and continued doing an occasional film right up to the 1990s but the magic of old was missing.

A winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema, the last film that Naushad composed music for was Akbar Khan's Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). He passed away in Mumbai on May 5, 2006 due to cardiac arrest.

[S.Balaji]

Shri Naushad was the pride of Indian music .

Dear Ram,

Request you to host his songs also as a separate link . This will become one stop browsing centre for all lovers of music of yesteryears...

I wish we have similar links for legends like Shankar Jaikishan, the great O.P.Nayyar , SDB & RDB....

Also, an exclusive link for the songs of Mukesh, evergreen Mohd. Rafi Saab, Kishoreji, HemantKumar etc.....

Also for the Queen of NI music..... Lata Mangeshkar, Ashaji etc....

Cheers .

[s.r.sankaranarayanan]

DEAR BALAJI,

FINE WRITE UP ON NAUSHADJI.CONSIDERING THE SPAN OF HIS COMPOSING YEARS,HE HAS ONLY SCORED MUSIC FOR SEVENTY ODD FILMS ,IF I AM CORRECT. NONETHELESS,HE HAS PRODUCED IMMORTAL MELODIES.MOST OF THE HINDUSTAANI COMPOSERS OF YESTERYEARS TOOK LOT OF TIME FOR COMPOSING,NAUSHADJI WAS NO EXCEPTION.IN THIS REGARD,I RECOLLECT AN ANECDOTE NARRATED BY OUR MASTER IN ONE OF RECENT MEETINGS.NAUSHADJI PARTICIPATED IN ONE OF THE COMPOSING SESSIONS OF OUR MASTER WHEN HE HAPPENED TO BE IN MADRAS.OUR MASTER TRUE TO HIS GENIUS,FINISHED OF COMPOSING THE SONG WITHIN THE HOUR IN THE MORNING.WHEN NAUSHADJI ASKED FOR HOW MANY DAYS HE WAS RUMINATING OVER THE TUNE ,MASTER HAD REPLIED" I ONLY THINK OF THESE THINGS WHEN I COME OVER TO THE STUDIO AND SIT IN FRONT OF MY HARMONIUM."
IT WAS DIFFICULT FOR NAUSHADJI TO BELIEVE THIS WHEN HE SAID 'IT TAKES HIM AT LEAST A MONTH TO COMPOSE A TUNE.

HIS LAST TWO HINDI FILMS WERE "teri paayal meri geet" ,IN WHICH MOST OF THE NUMBERS ARE RENDERED BY SPB. THE SONG "TERI PAAYAL MERI GEET" IN RAAG MAALATHI SHOWS THE CLASS OF NAUSHADJI EVEN IN HIS TWILIGT YEARS.

TAJMAHAAL ALSO HAS SOME MEMORABLE NUMBERS LIKE "MUMTAAZ TUJE DEKHA, JAB TAAJMAHAL DEKHA" BY HARIHARAN.LISTEN TO AJOY CHAKROBORTHY"S BANDISH IN THE SAME MOVIE, A STUNNER.

ON THE WHOLE NAUSHADJI GENIUS IS BEYOND QUESION FOR A SIMPLE REASON THAT HE WAS ADORED BY NONE OTHER THAN OUR OWN MAGICAL GENIUS.

S.R.SANKARANARAYan

[S.Balaji]

Dear SRS,

True. Shri Naushad composed few numbers only ( 73 ) but majority of them are classy .
Soon, I will try to cover movie by movie, those songs

[S.Balaji]

To start with, let me give some links of this epic movie of the 60s !. One of the very best landmark albums of Naushadji .

Mughal-e-Azam is a film, remniscient of the older style of Indian cinema. It was produced and directed by K. Asif and released in 1960. It took nine years to finish and was the most lavish production for its time.

The film broke box office records in India when released and held the record for the highest grossing film ever until the 1975 film Sholay broke its record.

Indiatimes Movies ranks the movie amongst the Top 25 Must See Bollywood Films.

Its most famous dance sequence takes place in the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) of the Lahore Fort, where a defiant slave-girl (played by Madhubala) dances for the Mughal Emperor and his court, singing Pyar Kiya to Darna Kya, "I have loved, so what is there to fear?" This song was one of three sequences shot on Eastman Kodak color film, while the rest of the movie was in black and white. The singing is, of course, playback singing by Lata Mangeshkar and lip-synched by Madhubala.

In 2004, a colorized version of the movie was released theatrically for the first time. The movie was again a success.


Synopsis

The film is a re-telling of a popular Indian tale, previously filmed as Love of a Mughal Prince (1928) and Anarkali (1953). It is loosely based on an episode in the life of the Mughal prince Jahangir, also known as Salim. In the movie, the great conqueror Akbar (played by Prithviraj Kapoor) and his Rajput wife, Jodhabai (played by Durga Khote) have but one son, the weak and pleasure-loving Jahangir, or Salim, played by Dilip Kumar. Salim falls in love with Anarkali (Madhubala), a slave and court-dancer. He wants to marry her; his father objects, and throws Anarkali into prison. Anarkali refuses to reject Salim. Salim revolts against his father, is beaten in battle, and sentenced to death. Anarkali buys his life with her own and is condemned to be walled up alive. However, Anarkali's mother begs for Anarkalis' life, reminding emperor of his promise to oen day grant her wish (for an earlier merit) and the emperor relents. Anarkali is said to have been killed, but the king arranges for her secret escape into exile.

Most tales of Salim and Anarkali end with Anarkali's death; the movie version is slightly more upbeat. However, Salim is still left to believe that Anarkali is dead and the lovers are still separated for the rest of their lives.


Trivia
Famed Hindustani classical and Thumri singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan sang two songs for the movie, as the voice of Tansen. He reportedly charged Rs. 25,000 per song. At the time, the going rate for popular playback singers such as Lata and Mohammed Rafi was below Rs. 500 per song.
The dance sequence of the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kiya is set in the Sheesh Mahal (Mirror Room) of the Lahore Fort, which is a historical anomaly since the Sheesh Mahal of Lahore Fort did not exist in the era of Emperor Akbar. It was in fact built by Akbar's grandson, Emperor Shah Jehan, many years after the death of Emperor Akbar. Decoration with mirrors (known as Aleppo glass) was a recurring theme in early Mughal-period architecture.
The film held the record for India's top-grossing film ever until the 1975 film Sholay broke box office records and remains the top all-time blockbuster inflation adjusted. Mughal-e-Azam now ranks second in the highest all-time blockbusters.[4]
As of 2007 Dilip Kumar and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar are the only surviving members from the cast and crew of the film. When the film was re-released in 2004, the film's music director Naushad was also alive until his death in 2006.
Source: Filmfare 1994; Author: Roshmila Mukherjee. Madhubala was an unforgettable Anarkali. And her portrayal of Radha in "mohe panghat pe nandala chhed gayo re" continues to mesmerise movie-goers. Surprisingly, the song was almost edited out. "It's bakwas.. it'll ruin the film," thundered noted director Vijay Bhatt after the recording. "Why show Akbar celebrating Lord Krishna's birth?" Music director Naushad argued that with Jodhabai present in the Mughal court, it wasn't all that illogical. After discussions with the panel of script writers, a line was incorporated in Anarkali's introduction scene to Prince Salim. A courtier was made to say "Aaj Krishna janmashtami hai aur Radha ke liye Anarkali theek rahegi." The song went on to become piece-de-resistance. K. Asif wanted the best choreographer for the song. Naushad suggested Lachchu Maharaj. And the great Kathak exponent burst into tears the minute he heard the song. Asif was baffled. "Why is he crying," he asked Naushad. "Tell him to start dancing." Naushad took the dancer aside and asked him why he was weeping. Lachchu Maharaj confided that his father, Alkaji Bindadin, had been Nawab Wajid Ali Shah's darbari dancer. And "mohe panghat pe nandalal" with nawab playing Krishna, was his favourite composition. "Hearing the number after all these years, I was overwhelmed. It reminded me of baba". It took Lachchu Maharaj five days to choreograph the number. His Radha was lovely... but she was no classical dancer. So the camera would zoom in on Madhubala for the close-ups. And one of Lachhu Maharaj's boys doubled for the actress in the long shots. On every one of those five days, there was an important visitor from across the border on the sets - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He would drive down from Worli to Mohan Studio and spend the day there raptly watching the song being picturised.


Needless to mention, the songs are extremely popular even today !

For the younger generation, pls listen to the songs to have a taste of the original Hindustani music

Given below are the links to the epic movie's songs :

http://www.raaga.com/channels/hindi/movie/H000757.html