Aurat, also known by its English title Woman, is a 1940 Indian film directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Sardar Akhtar, Surendra, Yakub, Kanhaiyalal and Arun Kumar Ahuja. The film's music is by Anil Biswas and dialogue is by Wajahat Mirza. Mehboob Khan later remade this film as Mother India (1957), which is considered one of the biggest hits of all time in Indian Cinema.
Pagal is a 1940 Indian Hindi-language film. It was the fourth highest grossing Indian film of 1940. The psycho-social melodrama was directed by A. R. Kardar for Ranjit Movietone. Kardar also wrote the dialogues and story for the film. Khemchand Prakash composed the music with lyrics written by D. N. Madhok. The film's protagonist was Prithviraj Kapoor playing a doctor with psychological problems, working in a "lunatic asylum". The rest of the cast included Trilok Kapoor, Madhuri, Sitara Devi, Noor Mohammed Charlie, Khatoon, and Sunalini Devi.
Roti is a 1942 Indian Hindi film directed by Mehboob Khan. This movie was anti-capitalist.
Shatir Ghaznavi was a playwright, lyricist, story/screenplay and dialogue writer for movies both in British India and later in Pakistan.
Yakub Khan, known as Yakub, was an Indian actor born into a Pathan family in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. He is best known for his comic and comic villainous roles.
Hum Tum Aur Woh is a 1938 Hindi/Urdu social drama film. The film was directed by Mehboob Khan for Sagar Movietone. The music was composed by Anil Biswas with lyrics by Wajahat Mirza and Zia Sarhadi. The cinematographer was Faredoon Irani. The film starred Motilal, Maya Banerjee, Rose, Yakub and Sankatha Prasad. The film was a romantic triangle involving Moti (Motilal), Bina the girl he's engaged to and Leela (Rose) who is obsessed with him.
Watan (transl. Homeland) is a 1938 Indian costume drama film directed by Mehboob Khan. Produced by Sagar Films, the film had story by Mehboob Khan and Wajahat Mirza. The cast of the film included Kumar, Bibbo, Maya Banerjee, Yakub Lala, Sitara Devi and Kayam Ali. The story set in Central Asia, based on the De-Cossackization policy, involving the Bolsheviks and Cossacks with the Cossacks fight for independence which was a symbolic reference to the independence from British rule in India at that time. It also incorporated a romantic triangle involving Kumar, Bibbo and Sitara Devi.
Jagirdar (Landlord) is a 1937 Hindi romantic melodrama film directed by Mehboob Khan, and starring Bibbo, Motilal, Surendra, Yakub, Pande, Sankatha Prasad, Pesi Patel and Maya Banerjee.
Bahen is a 1941 Hindi film directed by Mehboob Khan. Sagar Movietone had closed down at the start of WW II and reformed as National Studios. It was under the new banner that Mehboob Khan produced his three important films of that time, Aurat (1940), Bahen (1941) and Roti (1942). Written by Babubhai Mehta and Zia Sarhadi, it had dialogues and screenplay by Wajahat Mirza. The cinematography was by Faredoon Irani. Anil Biswas was the music director with lyrics by Safdar Aah. The cast included Sheikh Mukhtar, Nalini Jaywant, Harish, Kanhaiyalal, Husn Bano, Swaroop Rani, Baby Meena and Bhudo Advani.
Alibaba is a 1940 Urdu/Hindi fantasy film directed by Mehboob Khan for Sagar Movietone. The music was directed by Anil Biswas, with lyrics by Safdar Aah. The film was a bilingual, made in Punjabi language as Alibaba at the same time. It starred Surendra, Sardar Akhtar, Ghulam Mohammed and Wahidan Bai.
Teen Sau Din Ke Baad is a 1938 Indian social comedy film directed by Sarvottam Badami. The film was produced by Sagar Movietone, with story written by Babubhai A. Mehta and dialogue by Wajahat Mirza and Waqif. The music was composed by Anil Biswas with lyrics by Zia Sarhadi. The director of photography was Faredoon Irani and the film starred Bibbo, Motilal, Sabita Devi, Yakub, Pesi Patel and Gulzar. The film had Motilal playing the role of "a young bored millionaire", who due to his intemperate life-style starts falling ill. He bets with his doctor that he can go out in the world and manage to exist without his wealth.
Jeevan Lata is a 1936 Hindi social drama film directed by Sarvottam Badami. The film was produced by Sagar Movietone and had music by Pransukh M. Nayak. Sabita Devi and Motilal paired in several films right from Motilal's first Shaher Ka Jadoo (1934), with Badami using the pair for many of the films he directed for Sagar Movietone. This was Motilal's fourth film. The film starred Sabita Devi, Motilal, Gulzar, Sankatha Prasad, Bhudo Advani and Mehdi Raza.
Kokila (transl. Nightingale) is a 1937 Hindi social family drama film directed by Sarvottam Badami. The music was composed by Anil Biswas with lyrics written by Siddiqui and Zia Sarhadi. The story was adapted from the well-known novel Kokila, written by Gujarati writer Ramanlal Vasantlal Desai. The film starred Motilal, Sabita Devi, Shobhna Samarth, Maya Bannerjee, Sitara Devi, Pesi Patel, Siddiqui and Kayam Ali.
Ladies Only is a 1939 Indian Hindi-language social comedy film directed by Sarvottam Badami. Produced by Sagar Movietone, it had music by Anupam Ghatak and starred Surendranath, Sabita Devi, Bibbo and Prabha. This was the last comedy film made by Sarvottam Badami before he left Sagar Movietone. He joined his mentor Ambalal Patel, at Sudama Pictures to start making "socially relevant" films.
Baghban (transl. Gardener) is a 1938 Indian family drama film directed by A. R. Kardar.
Chandragupta is a 1934 Hindi/Urdu historical film directed by A. R. Kardar. Produced by East India Film Company, the music direction was by K. C. Dey. Kardar had shifted to Calcutta where he joined the East India Film Company, and directed "hits" like Chandragupta. The film starred Nazir as Chandragupta. The cast included Gul Hamid, Sabita Devi, Mazhar Khan, Dhiraj Bhattacharya, Vasantrao Pehalwan.
Baap Re Baap is a 1955 Hindi family comedy drama film, produced and directed by A. R. Kardar. Produced under the Kardar Productions banner, it had dialogues by S. N. Bannerjee and Jagdish Kanwal. The music of the film was composed by O. P. Nayyar, with the lyrics written by Jan Nisar Akhtar.
Sardar Akhtar (1915–1986) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. She started her acting career on the Urdu stage. Her early films were with Saroj Movietone, where she did a majority of stunt (action) roles. She came into prominence as the washer-woman in the role of Rami Dhoban in Sohrab Modi's Pukar (1939). As a woman seeking justice for the death of her husband, it was a breakthrough role for her. A popular song she sang in the film was "Kaheko Mohe Chhede". Her career defining role was as a "peasant woman" deserted by her husband, in Mehboob Khan's Aurat (1940), a role later made famous by Nargis in Mehboob's remake Mother India.
Bhudo Advani was an Indian character actor and comedian. He started his acting career in theatre with the notion of spreading awareness on social issues. He came to Bombay on the advice of an Ajanta Cinetone representative and was offered a role in the film Afzal, also called Hoor-E-Haram in 1933, directed by Mohan Bhavnani. He later joined Sagar Movietone, becoming an important fixture in most films produced by them. He turned from character roles to comedy performing in Dr. Madhurika (1935), directed by Sarvottam Badami, Deccan Queen (1936) and Do Diwaane (1936), by C. Luhar.
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).
