Lucknow orchestra helped Naushad become Bollywood composer

Lucknow, May 5 (UNI) Legendary music director Naushad Ali, who died in Mumbai today, had began his music career with a small orchestra group here which performed during the screening of silent movies.

As a youngster, he was mesmerised by the great qawwals and musicians that he listened to at the annual fair in neighbouring Barabanki. He later secured a position with a small orchestra that provided musical accompaniment to silent films at the Royal Theater here.

Working with the orchestra, he learned the techniques required for composing effective background music for the cinema.

Born on Christmas Day in 1919, Naushad spent his early years in a house at Jhawain Tola in Akbari Gate area of the Old City.

After learning music at Latush Road from his Ustad and acclaimed poet Umer Ansari, Naushad moved to Mumbai in 1935 despite stiff resistance from his father who frowned on music as a career.

In the 1980s, Naushad decided to sell off his home to Eram Educational Society, which now runs a school there, informed Athar Nabi, an old Naushad fan who has established the Naushad Academy in the Uttar Pradesh capital.

During the last few years, Naushad was distraught over what he perceived as deterioration of Hindi film music and was particularly critical of the remix albums being churned out every day, Nabi added.

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