(1948) opposite Geeta Bali and Begum Para, and in Devendra Goel's Aankhen (1950). His career as a tragic hero ran parallel with that of Dilip Kumar in the 1950s, but he lacked the "intensity and charisma" of Kumar. However, his "mellow looks matched by a soft voice" had the compassion required to depict sympathetic roles, with his specialty being a "sensitive, suffering poet-musician" in several hit musicals such as Baiju Bawra, Mirza Ghalib (1954), Basant Bahar (1956), Barsaat Ki Raat (1960) and Sangeet Samrat Tansen (1962). Signed by Bhatt for Baiju Bawra, his "unruly mop and simple demeanour" established him as a star and "crystallised Bhushan's image as an actor of 'note'". The pathos required of his role was acclaimed by critics as well as audiences, as were the singing sequences of classical raga-based songs in Mohammad Rafi's voice. Bhatt and Bhushan worked again the following year in Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1953), for which Bhushan received the Filmfare Best Actor Award. Surendra, a popular leading actor of the 1930s and 1940s, turned to character roles in the 50s. The character of Tansen in Baiju Bawra was a career-reviving role for him. One of the "greatest" highlights of the film was the music-singing competition (jugalbandi) between the court musician Tansen and Baiju. Surendra had sung his own songs in his early career, however, he had to lip-sync to Ustad Amir Khan for the song "Ghanana Ghanana Kar Barso Re" in raga Malhar, while the song sequence between Tansen and Baiju had Ustad Amir Khan and D. V. Paluskar providing playback singing for them. He played the role of Tansen in three films, Baiju Bawra, Rani Roopmati (1957) and Mughal-E-Azam (1960). Kuldip Kaur was known for her negative characters and cited as Indian cinema's "most polished vamps". Starting her career with a Punjabi film Chaman (1948), she went on to portray female villain roles in several films. Her role as the "strong dacoit queen" who lures Baiju away from his village made a "major impact" and was critically acclaimed. Music Naushad had come into prominence following his fourth film Station Master (1942), a Bhatt film production. The box office success of Station Master helped Naushad showcase his talent and become popular. Naushad at this time was under contract to A. R. Kardar, who had allowed him to score music for other companies. Bhatt brought in Naushad to give music for Baiju Bawra