Meena Kumari was an Indian actress and poet, who worked in Hindi films. Popularly known as The Tragedy Queen, she was active between 1939 and 1972. Kumari was described by critics as a "historically incomparable" actress of Hindi cinema. In a career spanning 33 years, she starred in about 93 films such as Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Pakeezah, Mere Apne, Aarti, Baiju Bawra, Parineeta, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai, Footpath, Dil Ek Mandir and Kaajal.
Baiju Bawra is a 1952 Hindi musical romantic drama film directed by Vijay Bhatt. Produced by Prakash Pictures, with story by Ramchandra Thakur and dialogues by Zia Sarhadi, Baiju Bawra was a musical "megahit" which had a mighty run of 100 weeks in the theatres. Bhatt's decision to make a film based on classical music was met with scepticism by the Indian film industry due to its "lack of mass appeal", but the film and music turned out be an "overwhelming success".
Dushmun (transl. Enemy) is a 1971 Indian Hindi-language film produced by Premji and directed by Dulal Guha. It is based on a novel by Virendra Sharma. The film stars Rajesh Khanna in the title role and for which he received a Filmfare nomination as Best Actor, the only nomination for the film. Meena Kumari, Mumtaz, Bindu, Rehman, Asit Sen and Johnny Walker are part of the cast.
Vijay Bhatt was a producer-director-screenwriter of Hindi cinema, who made such films as Ram Rajya (1943), Baiju Bawra (1952), Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959) and Himalaya Ki God Mein (1965).
Nanabhai Bhatt was an Indian film director and producer who worked in Hindi and Gujarati cinema. He is known for making over a hundred fantasy and mythological films, including Mr. X (1957), Zimbo Comes to Town (1960), Lal Qila (1960) and the blockbuster Kangan (1959) starring Nirupa Roy and Ashok Kumar. His first film, Muqabala (1942), was the first to feature the double-role or "twins" phenomenon in Indian cinema, wherein lead actress Fearless Nadia alternated between the good sister and the gangster's moll. The formula was subsequently emulated in numerous Hindi films.
Armaan (transl. Desire) also called Arman, is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1942. Arman was the first film that Kidar Sharma directed for Ranjit Studios and also his first in Bombay since his shift from Calcutta. The story, dialogue and lyrics were also by Sharma. It had music by Gyan Dutt. The cinematographer was D. K. Ambre. The cast included Motilal, Shamim, Nagendra Majumdar, Bhagwandas, and Rajkumari.
Tamanna is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1942. The film was directed by Phani Majumdar, who also wrote the screenplay, for the Laxmi Productions Ltd. banner. This was the first film from the Laxmi banner, which had been started by Chimanlal Trivedi who earlier headed Circo Productions. Tamanna was also the renowned dancer, Leela Desai's, first film in Bombay. The main cast included Leela Desai, P. Jairaj, Karan Dewan, Jagdish Sethi and K. C. Dey, who besides acting, composed the music. S. K. Kalla wrote the dialogue and lyrics.
Alibaba and 40 Thieves is a 1954 Hindi/Urdu fantasy action film directed by Homi Wadia. The film was a Basant pictures presentation under the Wadia Brothers Production banner. The story, screenplay and additional dialogue were by JBH Wadia, while the dialogues were written by Chand Pandit and Tahir Lucknavi. The art direction and special effects were by Babubhai Mistry. The music was composed by Chitragupta and S. N. Tripathi. Chitragupta had worked as an assistant to S. N. Tripathi in some of the mythology and fantasy films before branching out on his own. The lyricist was Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The film starred Mahipal, Shakila, B. M. Vyas, S. N. Tripathi, Sharda, Lalita Kumari and Helen. The song sequence of "Dekho Ji Chand Nikla" was shot in Gevacolor.
Samay Bada Balwan is a 1969 Hindi social moral drama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi. Modi had sold his studio a year earlier but tried to revive the Minerva Movietone banner by producing this film. The music director was Usha Khanna with lyrics written by D. N. Madhok. This was the only film in which Modi used Usha Khanna as a music composer. Mehtab acted together again with Modi in Samay Bada Balwan in a supporting role as Modi's wife. This was to be the last acting role of her career. The film starred Sohrab Modi, Mehtab, Aruna Irani, Sailesh Kumar, Shahida, David, and Helen.
Khwab Ki Duniya (transl. Dreamland) is a 1937 Hindi fantasy film produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt for Prakash Pictures. The music director was Lallubhai Nayak with lyrics written by Pandit Anuj. The film starred Jayant, with costars Sardar Akhtar, Umakant, Zahur, Lallubhai, Shirin and Ismail.
Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is a 1954 Hindi devotional biopic film produced and directed by Vijay Bhatt. The film's music was composed by R. C. Boral, with lyrics by Bharat Vyas. The director of photography was V. N. Reddy. Bharat Bhushan won the Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Asha Parekh, having started her career as a child artist in 1952, and who went on to become a famous actress, was cast in a small role in this film. The starcast included Bharat Bhushan, Durga Khote, Ameeta, Asha Parekh, Ram Mohan, Madan Puri, Kanhaiyalal and B.M. Vyas.
State Express is a 1938 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Vijay Bhatt for his production company Prakash Pictures. The film's music was composed by Lallubhai Nayak and the dialogues were written by Sampatlal Srivastava. Zakaria Khan, named Jayant by Vijay Bhatt, and who was to become a famous character artist, started his career as a leading man in several of Bhatt's earlier films from Bombay Mail (1935) to Bijli (1939), including State Express The film starred Jayant, Sardar Akhtar, Umakant, Lallubhai Nayak, Shirin and Ismail.
Vikramaditya is a 1945 Hindi historical drama film directed by Vijay Bhatt for his banner Prakash Pictures. The title role of the King of Avanti, Vikramaditya, was played by Prithviraj Kapoor, who had made a name for himself as a good actor by then and was extremely popular. The film was made as a result of Bhatt's interest in history and on the request of the Vikram Bimillenium Committee, celebrating the 2000 years of the King Vikramaditya according to the Vikram Samvat, Hindu calendar. The film-maker concentrated on factual history rather than fiction for his story. The music direction was by Shankar Rao Vyas with the lyricists being Ramesh Gupta and Roopdas. The film starred Prithviraj Kapoor, Prem Adib, Baburao Pendharkar, Ratnamala, Bhagwandas and Ranjana.
Ek Hi Bhool is a 1940 Hindi social drama directed by Vijay Bhatt. The film was produced by Vijay and his brother Shankar Bhatt for Bhatt's production banner Prakash Pictures. The Music direction was by Shankar Rao Vyas with lyrics by Pandit Anuj. The film starred P. Jairaj, Mehtab, Umakant, Baby Meena, Prahlad Dutt, Rekha and Baby Meena.
Ram Rajya is an Indian 1967 Hindi religious film based on Valmiki's Ramayana and directed by Vijay Bhatt. The film was produced by Shankarbhai Bhatt. The music director was Vasant Desai with lyrics written by Bharat Vyas. The cinematographer was Pravin Bhatt and the film starred Bina Rai, Kumar Sen, Badri Prasad, Kanhaiyalal, Farida dadi, Anil Kumar, Jay Vijay.
Pooja (Worship) is a 1940 Indian Hindi/Urdu-language psychological drama film directed by A. R. Kardar. The music director was Anil Biswas, with lyrics by Khan Shatir Ghaznavi. Produced by National Studios, the story, screenplay and dialogue writer was M. Sadiq and the cinematographer was P. G. Kukde. The film starred Sardar Akhtar, Zahur Raja, Sitara Devi, Jyoti, Sankatha Prasad, Sunalini Devi, Bhudo Advani and Baby Meena.
Bibbo was a music composer, singer and actress who worked in both Indian and Pakistani films. She acted in Indian cinema from 1933 to 1947 before moving to Pakistan, following Partition of India in 1947. She started her acting career with Ajanta Cinetone Ltd. in 1933, working with directors like M. D. Bhavnani and A. P. Kapoor. She was one of the top leading ladies of the 1930s along with actresses like Devika Rani, Durga Khote, Sulochana, Mehtab, Shanta Apte, Sabita Devi, Leela Desai and Naseem Banu. She was referred to as "one of the most important female stars of the 1930s and 1940s". Her fame had her featured in the lyrics of a popular song from the film Gharib Ke Lal (1939) sung by Mirza Musharraf and Kamla Karnataki, with music by Sagheer Asif and lyrics by Rafi Kashmiri. "Tujhe Bibbo Kahoon Ke Sulochana", where Sulochana referred to another popular actress of the time. This was the first time a song featuring famous actors was used in the lyrics of a film song.
Sabita Devi (1914–1965) was a Hindi film actress in Indian cinema. She is stated to be one of the "prominent" leading ladies of the "pioneering era" of Indian cinema along with Mehtab, Bibbo, Durga Khote, Gohar, Devika Rani and Seeta Devi. A Jewess by birth, she changed her name to find acceptability in Hindi cinema like the other Anglo-Indian and Jewish actresses of her time, Sulochana, Seeta Devi, Madhuri, and Manorama. After initially working with British Dominion Films Ltd., Calcutta, she shifted to Bombay and performed mainly in films produced by Sagar Movietone with her co-star in most films being Motilal. Some of the popular films with Motilal were Dr. Madhurika (1935) and Kulvadhu (1937) directed by Sarvottam Badami. Their first film together was Shaher Ka Jadoo (1934), which was also Motilal's debut film, and then Lagna Bandhan (1936) both directed by Kaliprasad Ghosh. She acted in Silver King (1935) with Motilal. It was an action film directed by C. M. Luhar, which became a "huge success".
Adl-E-Jehangir also referred to as Adil-E-Jehangir, is a 1955 black and white Bollywood Hindi language historical drama film directed by G. P. Sippy. According to Sippy in an interview, it was the first film he directed, and it became a commercial success at the box office. The film had music composed by Husnlal Bhagatram, assisted by Shukla, with lyrics by Qamar Jalalabadi. A popular ghazal from the film was "Ae Meri Zindagi Tujhe Dhundhoon Kahan" sung by Talat Mahmood. The film starred Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari, Durga Khote, Sapru and Jankidas.
Magroor (transl. Proud) is a 1950 Indian Hindi-language romance film produced by J.B.H. Wadia and directed by cinematographer R.D. Mathur.
