[1][2] Tripathi's multi-faceted work range included being a composer, writer, actor, and director of films.
He was the first composer to make use of the slogan "Jai Hind" (Victory to India) in a song in films, during the end of the British Raj.
Two of his films with Nirupa Roy and Bharat Bhushan, Rani Roopmati (1957) and Kavi Kalidas (1959), are cited as having "cinematic merit" and "unforgettable music".
[6] Trained as a classicist, the popularity of his songs from Rani Roopmati, Sangeet Samrat Tansen (1962) and other films has been attributed to Tripathi's mixing of Rajasthani folk with musical instruments like shehnai and mandolin, which never "offended sensibilities", yet had the "pulsating dance-like quality".
[7] His "experimental compositions" like "Na Kisi Ki Ankh Ka Noor Hoon" and "Lagta Nahin Hai Dil Mera" from the film Lal Qila (1960) remain popular.