The Progressive Writers' Association or the Progressive Writers' Movement of India or Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Akhil Bhartiya Pragatishil Lekhak Sangh was a progressive literary movement in pre-partition British India. Some branches of this writers' group existed around the world besides in India, Kashmir and Pakistan
Sikandar or Sikander is a 1941 epic Bollywood film directed by Sohrab Modi and starring Prithviraj Kapoor as Alexander the Great.
Pukar is a 1939 Urdu film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi at the production house, Minerva Movietone. The film is about Mughal emperor Jehangir's legendary justice and his inner conflict when his wife kills an innocent citizen by mistake.
Ulti Ganga is a 1942 Bollywood film directed by Keshavrao Dhaiber.
Prithvi Vallabh is a historical drama Bollywood film directed by Sohrab Modi. Made under the Minerva Movietone banner it was released in 1943. It had music by Rafiq Ghaznavi and Saraswati Devi with lyrics by Pandit Sudershan who also wrote the screenplay and dialogues. The film starred Sohrab Modi, Durga Khote, Sankatha Prasad, Kajjan, Meena Shorey, Sadiq Ali, K. N. Singh and Al Nasir.
Parakh is a Bollywood social film. It was released in 1944. Directed by Sohrab Modi, it starred Mehtab, Yakub, Eruch Tarapore, Latika and Balwant Singh. The music was composed by Khursheed Anwar and Saraswati Devi.
Pattharon Ka Saudagar is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1944. It was directed by Shorey Daulatvi for Sohrab Modi's Minerva Movietone banner. The music was composed by Mir Saheb and the film starred Al Nasir, Sheela, Meena Shorey, K. N. Singh, Jilloobai and Sankatha Prasad.
Khoon Ka Khoon also called Hamlet is the first Hindi/Urdu 1935 sound film adaptation of the Shakespearen play Hamlet. Directed by Sohrab Modi under his Stage Film Company banner, it is cited as one of the earliest talkie versions of this play. Credited as "the man who brought Shakespeare to the Indian screen", it was Modi's debut feature film as a director. The story and script were by Mehdi Hassan Ahsan from his Urdu adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet". Starring Sohrab Modi, Khoon Ka Khoon was also the debut in films of Naseem Banu who played Ophelia. The other star cast included Shamshadbai, Ghulam Hussain, Obali Mai, Fazal Karim and Eruch Tarapore.
Jailor is a 1938 Hindustani psychosocial melodrama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi. Produced by Minerva Movietone, the story and lyrics were written by Kamal Amrohi and Ameer Haider with screenplay by J. K. Nanda. The film had music direction by Mir Sahib, while the cinematographer was Y. D. Sarpotdar. The film starred Sohrab Modi, Leela Chitnis, Sadiq Ali, Eruch Tarapore, Abu Bakar, Baby Kamala and Kusum Deshpande.
Meetha Zahar is a 1938 Indian Hindi/Urdu-language social drama film directed by Sohrab Modi for his Minerva Movietone productions. The screenplay was by Gajanan Jagirdar with dialogue by Munshi Abdul Baqi and director of photography by Y. S. Sarpotdar The music was by B. S. Hoogan with lyrics by Irshad Ahmed. The cast included Naseem Banu, Sohrab Modi, Jagirdar, Sadiq Ali, Eruch Tarapore, Sadat Ali, Sheela and Fakir Mohammed.
Bharosa (Trust) is a 1940 Hindi/Urdu social melodrama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi. Made under the Minerva Movietone banner, the story and lyrics were by Lalchand Bismil, with cinematography by Y. D. Sarpotdar. The music was composed by G. P. Kapoor, and the cast included Chandra Mohan, Sardar Akhtar, Mazhar Khan, Sheela, Maya Devi and Eruch Tarapore.
Kundan is a 1955 Indian Hindi-language social drama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi for Minerva Movietone. The film stars Sohrab Modi, Sunil Dutt, Nimmi, Pran, Om Prakash, Kumkum, Naaz, Murad, Ulhas,Manorama. The Screenplay was by Pandit Sudarshan, with dialogues by Munshi Abdul Baqui and Pandit Sudarshan. The music was composed by Ghulam Mohammed, with lyrics by Shakeel Badayuni. Nimmi's double role in the film as mother and daughter was acclaimed critically, while Ulhas won a nomination in the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor category.
Manjhdhar or is a 1947 Hindi/Urdu historical drama film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi for Minerva Movietone. The story was by Pandit Sudarshan, with art direction by Rusi K. Banker and sound recording by M. Eduljee. It had music composed by Ghulam Haider, Gyan Dutt and Anil Biswas, the lyricist was Shams Lucknowi. The film starred Sohrab Modi, Khursheed, Surendra, Eruch Tarapore and Rafiq Ghaznavi.
Khan Bahadur is a 1937 Hindi/Urdu social film produced and directed by Sohrab Modi. The music director was B. S. Hoogan. The film was the acting debut of Prem Adib, who went on to act in mythological and social films becoming famous with Vijay Bhatt-directed films like Bharat Milap (1942) and Ram Rajya (1943). Other actors in the film were Sohrab Modi, Naseem Banu, Sadiq Ali, Eruch Tarapore, Ghulam Hussain and Saadat Ali.
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.
Meena Shorey was a Pakistani film actress who worked first in Indian cinema and later Pakistani cinema. She appeared in Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi films. Credited in films by her mononym, Meena, her real name was Khurshid Jehan. She started her acting career playing a character role, as Ambhi, Raja of Taxila's sister in Sohrab Modi's Sikandar (1941). Married to her third husband, Roop K. Shorey, by the mid-1940s, she found fame when she acted in her husband's film Ek Thi Larki (1949), opposite actor Motilal. The story was written by I. S. Johar, who also starred in the film. The "foot-tapping" music composed by Vinod became a "huge hit", with Meena becoming an "icon" for the "new liberated" young women. Meena was acclaimed as the "Lara Lappa Girl", from the song of same title in the film. She was one of the first women to be recognised in Indian cinema as a "comedienne of calibre". She was also popularly known as The Droll Queen of Partition as she worked as a comedienne [Droll] in both in India and Pakistan [countries resulting from partition].
Zahur Raja was an actor, producer, director and singer in Indian and Pakistan Cinema. He was known for his roles in films Mirza Sahiban (1939), Pooja (1940), Sikandar (1941), Badil (1942), Sewa (1942), Mazaaq (1943), O Panchhi (1944), Panchhi (1944), Bhai (1944), Ghazal (1945), Anmol Ghadi (1946).
