Ashok Kumar, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He was considered the first big star of Hindi cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor. He was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He was honoured in 1988 with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest national award for cinema artists, by the Government of India. He also received the Padma Bhushan in 1999 for his contributions to Indian cinema.
Madhubala was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi-language films. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, Madhubala was the highest-paid Indian star in the early 1950s. In a career spanning more than 20 years, Madhubala was predominantly active for only a decade but had appeared in over 60 films by the time of her death in 1969.
Geeta Dutt was an Indian classical and playback singer. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema and is considered as one of the best playback singers of all time in Hindi films. She also sang many modern Bengali songs in the non-film genre.
Omkar Prasad Nayyar was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industry. He won the 1958 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Naya Daur. Nayyar worked extensively with singers Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Mohammed Rafi, though not with leading Bollywood female singer Lata Mangeshkar.
Howrah, formerly Haora, is a city near Kolkata in West Bengal, India.
Laxmikant–Pyarelal were an Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar (1937–1998) and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma . They composed music for about 750 Hindi movies from 1963 to 1998, working for almost all notable filmmakers, including Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Shakti Samanta, Manmohan Desai, Yash Chopra, K. Balanchander, Boney Kapoor, J. Om Prakash, Raj Khosla, L V Prasad, Subhash Ghai, Mahesh Bhatt, K Viswanath and Manoj Kumar.
Helen Ann Richardson Khan, known mononymously as Helen, is an Indian actress and dancer. She has appeared in over 1000 films, making her a prolific performer in Hindi cinema. She is known for her supporting, character roles and guest appearances in a career spanning 70 years.
Shakti Samanta was an Indian film director and producer, who founded Shakti Films in 1957, which is most known for films such as Anand Ashram (1977), Anusandhan /Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1981), Anyay Abhichar (1985), Howrah Bridge (1958), Insan Jaag Utha (1959), China Town (1962), Kashmir Ki Kali (1964), An Evening in Paris (1967), Aradhana (1969), Kati Patang (1971), and Amar Prem (1972), Amanush.
Madan Puri was an Indian actor of Hindi and Punjabi films. His brothers were actors Chaman Puri and Amrish Puri. As a character actor mainly in negative roles (villain), he acted in about 430 films in a career spanning above fifty years.
Vinod Mehra was an Indian actor in Hindi films. He started out as a child actor in the mid 1950s before starting his film career as an adult in 1971. He acted in over 100 films from the 1970s through to his death at the age of 45 in 1990. He was also the producer and director of the film Gurudev which was released 3 years after his death.
"Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu" is a song from the 1958 Indian film Howrah Bridge. It was sung by Geeta Dutt, and was picturised on Helen. The song has lyrics by Qamar Jalalabadi and was composed by O.P. Nayyar. The tune at the beginning of the song was created by S Hazara Singh, the Hawaiian guitarist of OP Nayyar.
Anurodh is a 1977 Hindi musical drama film, based on the 1963 Bengali film Deya Neya, produced by Girija Samanta and directed by Shakti Samanta.
Om Prakash Bhandari, better known as Qamar Jalalabadi, was an Indian poet and lyricist of songs for Hindi movies. He composed the title track of the popular television serial Vikram Aur Betaal.
Phagun (transl. Spring) is a 1958 Indian Hindi-language film directed and produced by Bibhuti Mitra and written by Pranab Roy. The film stars Madhubala and Bharat Bhushan in leading roles, and its score is by O. P. Nayyar.
Jaali Note is a 1960 Hindi-language crime film directed by Shakti Samanta, based on the theme of counterfeit money. It stars Dev Anand and Madhubala, along with Helen, Madan Puri, Om Prakash.
Sawan Ki Ghata is a 1966 Bollywood musical romance produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. It stars Manoj Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz in lead roles, along with Pran, Jeevan, Madan Puri in other important roles. The music was composed by O. P. Nayyar.
Insan Jaag Utha is a 1959 Hindi-language social drama film, produced and directed by Shakti Samanta, and written by Nabendu Ghosh and Vrajendra Gaur, based on a story by Saroj Mitra. The film stars Madhubala, Sunil Dutt, Nasir Hussain, Bipin Gupta and Madan Puri in lead roles. It has music by Sachin Dev Burman, with lyrics by Shailendra.
Naughty Boy is a 1962 Indian romantic comedy film, starring Kishore Kumar and Kalpana Mohan. It was produced and directed by Shakti Samanta. The music was composed by S. D. Burman and he was assisted by his own son R. D. Burman. Dialogues were written by Vrajendra Gaur.
Ek Saal is a 1957 Indian romantic drama film directed by Devendra Goel and starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala in lead roles. The film is about a father of a dying girl who hires a conman to make his dying daughter's last year a happier one.
