His debut as independent director commenced with the film, Aah, in 1953, produced by Raj Kapoor, which, at the time, did not quite make its mark at the box-office.
For lead roles of his next film, Sohni Mahiwal (1958), Nawathe again paired Bharat Bhushan with Nimmi, both legendary stars of that era.
Other noteworthy films[6] by Raja Nawathe are: Gumnaam (1965),[7] a suspense thriller based on an Agatha Christie novel,[8] starring Manoj Kumar and Nanda in the lead roles; with mesmerizing music direction by maestros Shankar–Jaikishan.
In 1967, for Patthar ke Sanam, he cast Manoj Kumar once again, now with Waheeda Rehman, as the lead pair; Laxmikant–Pyarelal created some memorable music for this film.
Manchali (1973) was a comedy, and departed from Raja Nawathe's earlier films; it is also memorable for the super comical role played by Sanjeev Kumar.