Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal, was an Indian singer and actor who worked in Hindi cinema, which was centred in Calcutta (Kolkata) during Saigal's time, but is currently based in Bombay (Mumbai). Saigal's unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. In fact it remains the gold standard even today shining through very early and practically primitive recording technology. He did not sing songs on which other actors would lip-sync for the camera. It was only towards the very last stages of his career, in 1945 to 1947, that he sang to make studio recordings, and these were for himself as the actor on the screen. Thus, while other singers in Hindi Cinema are playback singers, he was not a playback singer.
New Theatres is an Indian film studio. It was formed in Calcutta by producer B. N. Sircar. It was formed on 10 February 1931. Motto of this company was– Jivatang Jyotiretu Chhayam. Sircar preferred to function roughly analogous to what in USA was known as an executive producer. He built a processing laboratory... and got around him a devoted band of people.... Having decided on or approved a story or a subject for a film and the team to make it [Sircar] ensured that adequate funds were provided... but refrained from interfering with its execution. He made New Theatres a symbol of Bengali cinema's artistic good taste and technical excellence.
Rai Chand Boral was an Indian composer, considered by music connoisseurs to be the Bhishma Pitamah, the father of film music in India.
Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in Heer Ranjha, the first film produced in Punjabi and in Seeta, a talkie that won an honorary diploma in the 1934 Venice Film Festival and that was also the first Indian film shown at an International film festival. Hamid also wrote the script, acted in, and directed the film Khyber Pass (1936). Hamid died of Hodgkin's Disease in 1936.
Birendranath Sircar was an Indian film producer and the founder of New Theatres Calcutta. He made Bengali-language films that were noted for introducing many film directors who later became famous. He was awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1970 and the third highest civilian award in India, the Padma Bhushan, in 1972.
Zindagi is a 1940 Indian film, directed by Pramathesh Barua and produced by Birendranath Sircar. Starring K. L. Saigal, Jamuna Barua, Pahari Sanyal, Shyam Laha, Sitara Devi, and Nemo, it revolves around Ratan, an unemployed university graduate, and his relationship with Shrimati, who is on the run from her cruel husband.
Zinda Lash is a 1932 Indian costume drama directed by Premankur Atorthy. The film was produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The cast of the film included K. L. Saigal, Rattan Bai, Pahari Sanyal, Mahajabin, Nawab, Kumar and Radharani. The music direction was by R. C. Boral. B. N. Sircar started New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta in 1930 and produced his first film in Bengali, Dena Paona in 1931. In 1932 he produced films in Hindi where he introduced K. L. Saigal to Indian Cinema. The first was Mohabbat Ke Ansu and the second was Zinda Lash both directed by Premankur Atorthy. K. L. Saigal changed his name for his first three films and was billed as Saigal Kashmiri to prevent his family from finding out his profession. This film like his earlier Mohabbat Ke Ansu was not successful at the box office.
Yahudi Ki Ladki is a 1933 Urdu/Hindi costume drama film directed by Premankur Atorthy. Produced by New Theatres Ltd.Calcutta, the cast included K. L. Saigal, Rattan Bai, Pahari Sanyal, Gul Hamid, Nawab and Kumar. The film was adapted from Agha Hashar Kashmiri’s play of the same name Yahudi Ki Ladki which had been written in Bengali as Misar Kumari. He also wrote the screenplay and lyrics. The film saw Pankaj Mullick's debut as a Hindi music director. The dialogues were by Wajahat Mirza. The story revolves around the rivalry and revenge between the Jewish merchant Prince Ezra and the Roman priest Brutus.
Bharat Ki Beti is a 1935 Hindi social film directed by Premankur Atorthy. The cast included Rattan Bai, Gul Hamid, Yasmin, Amirbai Karnataki, Gope, Dadabhai Sarkari and Hari Shivdasani. The music direction was credited to Jhande Khan and Anil Biswas. This was actor Hari Shivdasani's second film, having begun his career with Dharma Ki Devi (1935) the same year. Produced by Eastern Arts, Bharat Ki Beti focused on the nationalistic viewpoint while India was still under British rule.
Pujarin is a 1936 Hindi social film. It was directed by Prafulla Roy for International Film Craft. The film was based on a story by writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay from his story "Dena Paona". The film was the remake of the Bengali film Dena Paona directed by Premankur Atorthy. The music direction was by Timir Baran with lyrics by Pandit Bhushan and Kidar Sharma.The film starred K. L. Saigal, Chandrabati Devi, K. C. Dey, Pahari Sanyal and Rajkumari. The story is about a reckless immoral youth who marries for money then deserts his wife due to circumstances, only to return as an aristocrat and reform through the love of his wife.
Mohabbat Ki Kasauti also called Rooplekha in Bengali was a 1934 Indian "semi-historical" bilingual film in Hindi and Bengali, directed by P. C. Barua for New Theatres. Though Barua is consistently mentioned as director, according to author J. K. Bajaj, Debaki Bose directed Rooplekha in 1934. It had music by R. C. Boral and the cast included Rattanbai, K. L. Saigal, Pahari Sanyal, Noor Mohammed Charlie and Vishwanath. Jamuna started her career with a small role in the Hindi version.
Karan Dewan was an Indian cinema actor in Hindi films. He worked in over seventy films from 1941 to 1979. He started as a journalist while still in college, editing a film-based magazine in Urdu. His brother was the film producer and director Jaimani Dewan.
Rani Rasmani is a Bengali historical drama film directed by Kali Prasad Ghosh based on the real-life story of Rani Rasmani. This film was released on 11 February 1955 under the banner of Chalachchitra Pratisthan. Actress Molina Devi played the title role of the movie.
Shyama Zutshi was a Bollywood actress who was the first Kashmiri woman who joined films in 1934.
