It has been nine years since the wonder of Indian film music, Naushad Ali, has left us. The maestro, who was a name to reckon in the Hindi film music world, put his indelible stamp on Malayalam film music in 1988 by directing music for the film Dhwani, in which evergreen names such as Prem Nazir, Jayabahrathi, Jayaram and Shobhana starred. Naushad had given life to compelling music in about 67 Hindi films.

Naushad was born to Wahid Ali, a city court Munsif in Lucknow on December 25, 1919. He learned music under Ustad Gurbat Ali, Ustad Yousaf Ali and Ustad Babban Saahib. Devoted to music, Naushad left home early in the pursuit of music. His initial years in Mumbai were full of difficulties and he even had to sleep on the footpath.

His life took a positive turn when he started working as an assistant to Ustad Jande Khan. It was during his tenure as Jande Khan’s assistant that he met music director Karamchand Prakash, commonly known as Guru. That association developed him into an independent music director. He never had to look back after directing the music for Prem Nagar in 1940.

After Prem Nagar, Naushad created many musical hits and he became one of the best known music directors in the Hindi film industry. Songs tuned by him and sung by Mohammed Rafi are still a hit with music lovers.

Even though his Malayalam venture was restricted to Dwani, his music remains in the heart of Malayalees. The film Tajmahal, released in 1986, was his last film.

In 1981, he was presented with the Dada Saab Phalke Award and in 1992, he was presented the Padmabhushan. On May 5, 2006, when Naushad Ali passed away, Indian film music bid adieu to one of greatest Indian film music director of the last century.

source: http://www.english.manoramaonline.com / On Manorama / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Manu P / Tuesday – May 05th, 2015