In an interview, he had said: "In my 62 years in the film industry, I composed music for 66 films 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." No other words can succinctly spell the creations and quest of Naushad.
In a career spanning over more than six decades, Naushad composed for just 75 films (out of that 65 were Hindi films) but then he was always regarded as the choosiest composer. Taking days to finalize one tune, he was also regarded as the slowest! As the pace of life went on quickening with each passing decade, such perfectionist attitude might have slowly made him redundant, but that very steadfast attitude also helped him compose many a masterpiece.

Beginning his career as an assistant for music directors like Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Khemchand Prakash and Manohar Khanna, a young Naushad composed his first independent movie-score for Prem Nagar in 1940. In the initial years, he relied more on simple yet catchy rhythmic melodies. Listening to scores like Rattan (1943), Shah Jehan (1946) and Anmol Ghadi (1946) this simplistic popular appeal of tunes like Ankhiya Milake Jiya Bharmake, Ghum Diye Mustakil and Jawan Hai Mohabbat is well evident.

1952-film Baiju Bawra marked watershed in his career. From then on he consciously decided to work within the framework of Indian classical and folk-music. Thus he created many milestone raga- based songs like Man Tarpat Hari Darshan Ko (Raga- Malkauns), Madhuban Mein Radhika Naache Re (Raga- Hameer), Mohe Panghat Pe (Raga- Gara) and Mohe Bhool Gaye Sawariya (Raga- Bhairav) and also some brilliant folk-songs like Nain Lad Jai Hain and Dukh Bhare Din Beete Re Bhaiya. This total reliance on indigenous Indian music was Naushad’s strength and later sadly it also proved to be his limitation.

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