Naushadnama: The Life and Music of Naushad

by Raju Bharatan

The seven letters in Naushad’s name are like the seven notes of Hindustani classical music. After just a few years in films, Naushad (1919-2006) went to rule the Hindi cinema music world for around two decades, beginning with the landmark Rattan (1944). His oeuvre (from 1940 to 2005) consists of an unmatched list of jubilees, many of which are musical milestones such as Andaz (1949), Baiju Bawra (1952), Mother India (1957) and Mughal-e-Azam (1960).No individual stays supreme without putting in tremendous efforts to reach the pinnacle and to stay there as long as possible, as our maestro did. And no composer probably moved so cleverly, behind the scenes, than did Naushad to sustain his hold on the public imagination. Although we continue to marvel at the incredible variety of his mellifluous creations that have withstood the test of time, how little most of us know about Naushad the man. Renowned song historian Raju Bharatan fleshes out the real Naushad – his triumphs and tragedies – bringing into play more than 50 years of personal interaction with the tuneful titan. In the process, the author makes the book more sparking with a string of anecdotal gems. For    •  How Naushad and his contemporaries despite their professed bonhomie, were fiercely competitive (both musically and monetarily) in their attempts to occupy the ‘top spot’.   •  How many days of rehearsal were needed for some of the Baiju Bawara masterpieces?   •  How the immortal compositions of Mughal-e-Azam were recorded in a studio no better than a tin shed.This volume also throws new light on the relations and interactions between Naushad and his singers (especially Suraiya, Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Shamshad Begum); his songwriters (mainly D.N Madhok, Shakeel Badayuni and Majrooh Sultanpuri); and his ‘unsung’ instrumentalists (some of whom were geniuses in their own right).

Genres: Biography

452 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 201

Reviews

[Alok Agarwal · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book although great from information point of view is poor from story telling point of view. It is not a good read as compared to many other books of this genre. In patches, the story telling becomes interesting especially while talking about the dual between Shamshad begun and Lata and also while talking about early days of Suraiya. The author who used to write for " the illustrated weekly" has written the book I thought as if he is writing an extended article.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant, most readable account of the life and work of a remarkable and refined man

[Indian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who is interested in the Hindi-Filmi-music history between the 1930s to 1970s, must read this. The author (a Tamilian born in Mumbai) has done a great job. Love the way he writes the plusses & the minusses of his greatest fascinations 'Lata Mangeshkar' & 'Naushad' - highlighting their admirable traits, but also mentioning their insecurities.
Like for example, Lataji was not happy in the 1970, when the then out-of-job Shamshad Begum wanted to organize a Shamshad-Begum night, Lataji wasn't very happy about it.
This book is filled with tit-bits like these, about Suraiya & Dev Anand, TalatMehmood & Rafi, Raj Kapoor & Shankar JaiKishen, Shamshad & Asha -all the major news makers on the Bollywood music scene during those 4 decades.
Though I am not sure 'How much of all is truth' I have heard that Mr.Bharatan had a tendency to sensatiolize & falsify some facts just to make it gossipy.
Well read it yourself & make your decision.
Nevethless a great history of the events as they unfolded.
Reminds me of an old Hindi song:-
'Bade Rangeen Zamane The, Tarane Hi Tarane The, Magar Ab Poochta Hain Dil, Woh Din They Ya Afsane They'

[Nate Rabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating information packed book but one of the WORST examples of English writing. Almost impossible to follow. It reads like a literal translation from Hindi/Urdu into English.
Despite the poor English it’s a book chocker block full of great info.

[Madan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot say I enjoy Raju Bharatan's writing style very much and that is putting it mildly. He is too fond of a clever turn of phrase (at the expense of one that might sound elegant). Ironic, if I may, for one who considers Naushad his musical inspiration. That said, there is no doubt that he can relate to you a few out of an endless treasure trove of filmy anecdotes, derived from a decades-long association with the industry, in a time when they seem to have permitted closer interaction between entertainer and journalist. As Anil Biswas dryly remarked to Bharatan once, "Nobody can beat your knowledge of the history of film music." If this magnum opus celebrating Naushad's work is anything to go by, that assessment rings true.

There's just so much of interest to those of us still obsessed with the 'golden era of film music'. Also, unlike many other chroniclers of our celebrities, Bharatan does not let his fanboyish enthusiasm for Naushad get in the way of humanizing him by presenting his many shades (as well as of his rivals Biswas, C Ramachandra, Shankar Jaikishan and O P Nayyar).

We understand through the many anecdotes that Naushad had the ability to manipulate proceedings to secure what he needed while giving the appearance of being well above such dirty business. For instance, he secured a Dadasaheb Phalke award in the very year that Khaiyyam scored a big success with Umrao Jaan, thus stealing the limelight from him. Naushad was also the first music director to command a six figure salary (back in the 1950s!) as also a profit sharing deal with distributors. Not even Ilayaraja at his most dominant went as far as that latter step.

We also, however, get an insight into what separated him from his rivals and which allowed him to ride into a third successful decade (the 60s) in Hindi cinema. He understood the potential of Mohd Rafi long before the others and boldly dispensed with both Talat and Mukesh (with whom he had had successful outings) in favour of developing a semi classical vision built around Rafi's virtuosity. This, of course, caused his critics to say he owed all his success to Rafi (and to Dilip Kumar but that's another story) but think what would our film music look like without Naushad's tireless efforts to get the best out of Rafi (and, arguably, also Lata Mangeshkar).

Naushad was also a total composer and, in the words of the late Kersi Lord himself, gave his arrangers exact instructions as to what he wanted (where the others left it to the arrangers) and saw to it that he did, including giving them the notations for his music. He sought total control over the finished product and demanded plenty of time to compose as well as several rehearsals (O Duniya Ke Rakhwale was rehearsed over 21 days!) to get the song right. Traits that again seem to have earned many a pithy quip from his rivals but perhaps this obsession with realising his vision in entirety is what made his soundtracks timeless. It could be argued that Naushad's music, especially from Baiju Bawara onwards, was old fashioned or too classical but never mediocre or crass.

The book is filled with many insights into why, for instance, did Naushad part ways with Talat (hint: it wasn't about Talat's smoking habit, at least not only that), his role in sabotaging a possible Dev Anand-Suraiya alliance, why he did not migrate to Pakistan during partition, his role in completing the music of Pakeezah and beyond (!) and so on. There's almost too much to take in as Bharatan reels out anecdotes at a frequency that would leave Wikipedia bedazzled. There is a wonderful chapter dwelling on Naushad's own recollections of the Mughal E Azam soundtrack. To fully grasp the import of his observations, I would have to spend time on the soundtrack itself for a few days at a stretch (if not a month or two), such is the extent of detail in that chapter.

If there is a complaint, it is, as I mentioned, with Bharatan's own writing and what perhaps comes across as surprisingly dubious taste in one so closely associated with the greats of Hindi film music (praise for Preeti Uttam Singh's vocals on Taj Mahal, really?). But for these complaints, I would, as a certified Naushad fanboy myself, give it five stars without hesitation (though I wouldn't quite go so far as to crown him composer of the century as Bharatan does). As it stands, four stars just for the sheer abundance of quality content.

[Pradeep Venkatesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read. The author showed how the Great Naushad composed his music that we are hearing all these days. Now, after reading this book, I started regarding Naushad's with more interest. A very good book. My only complaint is that the book is written in no particular order. It would have been more nice if it was written in a chronological order.

And, Bharatan-saab, could you please publish all of your books (especially Lata one) in Kindle?