Naushad Ali was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of classical music in films.
Ashok Kumar, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He was considered the first big star of Indian 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.
Suraiya Jamal Sheikh, mononymously known as Suraiya, was an Indian actress and playback singer who worked in Hindi films. In a career spanning from 1936 to 1964, Suraiya acted in over 70 films and sang 338 songs. Regarded among the finest and greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she was known for her strong on-screen portrayals. Suraiya was the most celebrated actress between the mid- to late 1940s and early 1950s and was paid more than her male counterparts.
Shamshad Begum was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and range, she sang over 6,000 songs in Hindustani, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Punjabi languages, among which 1287 were Hindi film songs. She worked with renowned composers of the time, such as Naushad Ali and O. P. Nayyar, for whom she was one of their favorites. Her songs from the 1940s to the early 1970s remain popular and continue to be remixed.
Leela Chitnis was an Indian actress in the Indian film industry, active from the 1930s to the 1980s. In her early years she starred as a romantic lead, but she is best remembered for her later roles playing a virtuous and upright mother to leading stars.
Khwaja Khurshid Anwar was a Pakistani filmmaker, writer, director and music composer who earned recognition in both India and Pakistan. He is credited as being one of the most original and inventive music directors of his generation. He was the Programme Producer (Music) at (AIR), All India Radio or Akashvani, Delhi in 1939.
Sashadhar Mukherjee was an Indian filmmaker in Hindi cinema. He started his career with Bombay Talkies in the 1930s, and later established Filmistan Studio with Rai Bahadur Chunilal, Ashok Kumar and Gyan Mukherjee in 1943. In the 1950s, he went on to start his independent studio, Filmalaya. He is noted for films like Dil Deke Dekho (1959), Love in Simla (1960), Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Leader (1964). He is part of the distinguished Mukherjee clan of Bollywood.
Azaad (transl. Free) is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language action comedy film produced and directed by S. M. Sriramulu Naidu. It was the top grossing Hindi film in the year of its release, and one of the biggest Hindi film hits in the decade. In addition, Dilip Kumar won his second Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his work in this movie.
Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India.
Ghulam Mustafa Durrani was an Indian radio drama artist, playback singer, actor and music director.
Diwana is a 1952 Bollywood romantic drama movie directed and produced by Abdul Rashid Kardar. It was written by S. N. Banerji and edited by M. S. Hajee. It narrates the tragic love story of a prince and a nomadic woman who marry each other, become separated and when they finally reunite together they find themselves bereaved at the loss of their only son. It stars Suraiya, Sumitra and Suresh in the leading roles, with Shyam Kumar, Ramesh, Madan Puri, S N Banerji, Amirbai Karnataki, Mumtazbai, Neelambai and Amir Bano in supporting roles. The dialogues of this film were written by Jagdish Kanwal. The music was composed by the renowned musician Naushad, with lyrics penned by Shakeel Badayuni.
Metti Oli was an Indian Tamil-language soap opera that aired on weekdays on Sun TV for 811 episodes. The show starred Delhi Kumar, Kaveri, Gayathri, Vanaja, Uma Maheshwari, Revathi Priya, Chetan, Bose Venkat, Neelima Rani, Thirumurugan and Shanti Williams. It was produced by Cine Times Entertainment S.Siddiq, and written and directed by Thirumurugan. The serial was followed by Muhurtham of Cine Times Entertainment. In 2019 this show was telecast by Moon TV and during Covid-19 by Sun TV
Dillagi is a 1949 Indian Bollywood film. The film was produced and directed by A. R. Kardar for his "Kardar Productions", and had music composed by Naushad. The film starred Suraiya and Shyam, alongside Chandabai, Sharda, Amar and Amir Banu. The story was a romantic tragedy and became commercially successful, being the fourth highest grossing film of the year.
Sharda is a 1942 Bollywood film directed by Abdur Rashid Kardar. It starred Mehtab, Amir Banu, Nirmala Devi and Wasti. The film focuses on the importance of girls' education. It was the first prominent work of the music composer Naushad. Suraiya lent her voice to the film as playback singer when she was just twelve years old. The film was remade as Salma in 1960.
Sanjog is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1943.
Gajanan Jagirdar was a veteran Indian film director, screenwriter and actor. He worked in Hindi Cinema, also called Bollywood, as well as Marathi cinema. The period of 1942 to 1947, saw his rise as a film director with Prabhat Films.
Arun Kumar Ahuja, popularly known as Aroon, was an Indian actor and producer who was active in Hindi cinema in the 1940s and early 1950s, appearing in over 30 films in both leading and supporting roles. He was married to singer and actress Nirmala Devi and is the father of actor Govinda.
Mehtab (1913–1997) was an Indian actress of Hindi/Urdu films who worked from 1928 to 1969. She was born in Sachin, Gujarat, to a Muslim family and named Najma. Her father, Nawab Sidi Ibrahim Mohammad Yakut Khan III, was the Nawab of Sachin, near Surat in the state of Gujarat. Starting her career in the late 1920s with small roles in films like Second Wife (1928), Indira B. A. (1929) and Jayant (1929), she went on to do character roles before acting in the lead opposite Ashraf Khan in Veer Kunal (1932). After almost a decade of doing mainly action-oriented roles, she came into prominence with the Kidar Sharma-directed Chitralekha (1941).
Dil-E-Nadaan is a 1953 Hindi romantic drama film produced and directed by A. R. Kardar.
Munawar Sultana was an Indian cinema actress, who acted in Hindi films. She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of the late 1940s to early 1950s period, along with Noor Jehan, Swarnalata and Ragini. Her specialty was playing a selfless woman, enduring the rough treatment meted by her husband and family, but who eventually "brought her erring husband back home".
