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.
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 in a variety of genres. 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.
Amirbai Karnataki was a famous actress/singer and playback singer of the early Hindi cinema and was famous as Kannada Kokila. Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent fan of her song Vaishnav Jan To.
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.
Anil Krishna Biswas, professionally known as Anil Biswas, was an Indian film music director and playback singer from 1935 to 1965, who apart from being one of pioneers of playback singing, is also credited for the first Indian orchestra of twelve pieces and introducing orchestral music and full-blooded choral effects, into Indian cinema. A master in western symphonic music was known for the Indian classical or folk elements, especially Baul and Bhatiyali in his music. Out of his over 90 films, most memorable were, Roti (1942), Kismet (1943), Anokha Pyar (1948), Tarana (1951), Waaris (1954), Pardesi (1957) and Char Dil Char Rahen (1959).
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 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.
Dard (Pain) is a 1947 Bollywood drama film directed by Abdul Rashid Kardar. The film was produced by Kardar Productions. It was a surprise "musical hit" at the box office as it had an ordinary star cast. Suraiya played the second lead, with Munawwar Sultana as the main heroine. The film was Suraiya's first "big hit", becoming a popular singing star following the success of the film. The hero of the film was Kardar's brother Nusrat (Kardar), who shifted to Pakistan following Partition in 1947, where he acted in a few films.
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, Raj Kanth, Thirumurugan,Shanti Williams and Neelima Rani. 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.
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".
