Prior to taking up direction himself, he served as Art Director for four of the most beautiful films shot in Mumbai in the late 1950s and early 1960s: Pyaasa (1957) Kala Pani (1958) Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960); and Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962).
He won a 1960 Filmfare Award for Best Art Direction for his work on Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960).
In 1962 he directed his first film, Bees Saal Baad a noirish ghost story also starring Waheeda Rehman and Biswajeet, which garnered him a Filmfare Best Director Award nomination in 1963.
[1] The film was the top grosser at the box office in 1962, a super hit doing gross business worth Rs.
[clarification needed] He also directed Kohraa in 1964, repeating the lead pair of his debut.