Khwaja Ahmad Abbas was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English.
Dwarakanath Shantaram Kotnis, also known by his Chinese name Ke Dihua, was one of the five Indian physicians dispatched to China to provide medical assistance during the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1938. Known for his dedication and perseverance, he has been regarded as an example for Sino-Indian friendship and collaboration.
Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre, referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian film director, film producer, screenwriter and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such as Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959), Duniya Na Mane (1937), Pinjara (1972), Chani, Iye Marathiche Nagari and Zunj.
Mahipal was an Indian actor who worked in bollywood mostly in stunt films like Parasmani, Zabak, Cobra Girl, Jantar Mantar, Arabian nights themed movies such as Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag, Roop Lekha, Sunehari Nagin, Hindu mythological movies like Sampoorna Ramayan, Ganesh Mahima, Veer Bhimsen, Jai Santoshi Maa. He is known for playing the iconic role of Lord Vishnu, and his two avatars, Lord Rama and Lord Krishna in lot of various puranic, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata Purana based movies, besides playing Tulsidas and Abhimanyu, and is also best known as the lead in V. Shantaram's Navrang (1959), and the songs "Tu Chhupi Hai Kahan Me Tadapta Yahan" and "baazigar me tu jaadugar". He acted in several well-known films of the 1950s and 1960s including V. Shantaram's Navrang (1959) and Babubhai Mistry's Parasmani (1963).
Neecha Nagar is a 1946 Indian Hindi-language film, directed by Chetan Anand, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Hayatullah Ansari, and produced by Rashid Anwar and A. Halim. It was a pioneering effort in social realism in Indian cinema and paved the way for many such parallel cinema films by other directors, many of them also written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It starred Chetan Anand's wife Uma Anand, with Rafiq Anwar, Kamini Kaushal, Murad, Rafi Peer, Hamid Butt, and Zohra Sehgal. Neecha Nagar was a Hindi film adaptation in an Indian setting of Russian writer Maxim Gorky's 1902 play The Lower Depths.
Dharti Ke Lal is a 1946 Hindustani film, the first directorial venture of the noted film director Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It was jointly written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and Bijon Bhattacharya, based on plays by Bhattacharya and the story Annadata by Krishan Chander. The film had music by Ravi Shankar, with lyrics by Ali Sardar Jafri, Nemichand Jain, Vamiq, and Prem Dhawan.
Vasant Desai (1912–1975) was an Indian film music composer, most remembered for his score in V. Shantaram films like Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Vijay Bhatt's Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959), Sampoorna Ramayan (1961), Ashirwad (1968) and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's Guddi (1971).
Keshavrao Date (1889–1971) was an Indian film actor, who worked in both silent and sound movies. He tried to run his own drama company but found it difficult to perform the dual roles of manager and actor.
Jankidas Mehra was an Indian actor of Hindi cinema, cyclist, production designer, and writer. He made over 1000 film appearances between the 1930s and 1997.
Vinayak Damodar Karnataki commonly referred to as Master Vinayak was an Indian actor and film director of the 1930s and 1940s.
Sandhya Shantaram known mononyomusly as Sandhya is an Indian actress. She is best known for her appearances in various Hindi and Marathi films directed by her husband V. Shantaram, in 1950s-1960s, most notably Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1958), Navrang (1959), Marathi film Pinjra (1972) and Amar Bhoopali (1951).
Parbat Pe Apna Dera is a Bollywood film directed by V. Shantaram. It was released in 1944. The story, dialogues and lyrics were written by Dewan Sharar. The music was composed by Vasant Desai. The film was produced under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner and starred the "sensitive actress" Vanmala. Ulhas, cited as an actor known for his "melodramatic histrionics and a sonorous voice" was chosen to play the lead role of an "ascetic turned playboy". The cast included Shantarin, Madan Mohan, Kanta Kumari and Baby Nalini.
Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein is a 1967 suspense crime-thriller Hindi film written, produced and directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film starred Vimal Ahuja, Surekha, David, Irshad Panjatan, A. K. Hangal, Madhukar, Kuljit Pal and debutantes Jalal Agha and Persis Khambatta in major roles.
Char Dil Char Rahen is a 1959 Hindi film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and starring two big stars of the era, real-life brothers Shammi Kapoor and Raj Kapoor. The movie is based on a novel of the same name.
Rajkamal Kalamandir was a noted film production company and studio in Mumbai. It was established by V. Shantaram in 1942, after he left Prabhat Films. The studio produced films both in Hindi and Marathi, and it was best known for Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), Amar Bhoopali (1951), Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957), Navrang (1959) and Pinjra (1972). In its heyday, Rajkamal was one of the most sophisticated studios of the country.
Apna Desh is a 1949 Hindi social drama film set against the backdrop of Partition and directed by V. Shantaram for his Rajkamal Kalamandir banner.
Shanta Apte (1916–1964) was an Indian actress-singer who worked in Marathi and Hindi cinema. Renowned for her roles in films like Duniya Na Mane/Kunku (1937) and Amar Jyoti (1936) under the Prabhat Films banner, she was active in Indian cinema from 1932 to 1958. Apte's impact on Marathi cinema "paralleled" that of Kanan Devi in Bengali cinema. Along with Kanan Devi, Apte is cited as one of the "great singing stars" from before the playback singing era. Apte began her career in films playing the role of a young Radha in the Marathi film Shyamsunder (1932). She joined Prabhat Films acting in her first Hindi language film Amrit Manthan in (1934).
Baburao Pendharkar, was an Indian actor, director, film producer and writer.
Gopal Balwant Kamble was an Indian painter known for painting Bollywood movie posters and realist portraits of people from Maharashtra.
Ulhas was an Indian actor, who played character roles in Hindi cinema from the late 1930s to the early 1980s. However, since he died in 1969, many of his films were released after his death.
