While assisting Ram Ganguly in music compositions, Shankar was ambitious. He had managed to show his ability in composing music independently to Raj Kapoor. Meanwhile, the showman was looking for a new creative team for his upcoming film "Barsat", and proposed to Shankar to become its music composer. It was a great opportunity, and Shankar and Jaikishan wanted to go together for the assignment.
The music of Barsaat was a rage across India. The music was fresh accompanied by melodious tunes; and broke all barriers of music compositions for a movie. Their favourite lyricists Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra got associated with them from the first assignment. They used the then struggling singer Lata Mangeshkar for eight songs in Barsat, a surprise to everybody, and also for different characters in the film, another surprise!