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).
Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) 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.
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 Hindustani costume drama film directed by Mehboob Khan. Produced by Sagar Films, the film had story by Mehboob Khan and Wajahat Mirza. The cinematographer, as for most Sagar films, was Faredoon Irani. Following the successful music of Manmohan (1936), Sagar Movietone retained Anil Biswas as the in-house music director, scoring music for Watan along with other releases of the time from the studio. The cast of the film included Kumar, Bibbo, Maya Banerjee, Yakub Lala, Sitara Devi and Kayam Ali.
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.
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.
Chandni Chowk is a 1954 classic Muslim social drama film directed by B. R. Chopra.
Holi is a 1940 Hindi/Urdu social drama film directed by A. R. Kardar. Holi was produced by Ranjit Movietone and had music composed by Khemchand Prakash with lyrics by D. N. Madhok. It had Khursheed and Motilal starring in the lead with Sitara Devi, Ishwarlal, Keshavrao Date, Dixit, Ghory and Manohar Kapoor.
Baghban (Gardener) is a 1938 Hindi/Urdu family drama film directed by A. R. Kardar. The story was by Begum Ansari with script and screenplay by Kardar. Film's music was composed by Mushtaq Hussain with lyrics by Mirza Shauq. The cast included Nandrekar, Bimla Kumari, Nazir, Sitara Devi, K. N. Singh, Wasti and Ashraf Khan.
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.
Surendra was an Indian singer-actor of Hindi films. Known by his mononym, Surendra was born and educated in Punjab to be a lawyer by profession. He came to Bombay to become a singer on the recommendation of a Delhi distributor and his friends. He was "picked" by Mehboob Khan whom he met at Sagar Movietone, to sing and act in films as an alternative to the then Calcutta-based singer-actor, K. L. Saigal. Surendra started his career with his debut starring role in Deccan Queen (1936), directed by Mehboob Khan. He soon became a part of Sagar Movietone when his song "Birha Ki Aag Lagi More Man Mein" from the film became an "instant hit".
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.
Sagar Movietone also Sagar Films, Sagar Film Company and Sagar Productions was an Indian film production company involved in the making of films for Indian cinema. It was launched by Ardeshir Irani with Chimanlal Desai and Dr. Ambalal Patel in 1929 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India. Sagar was initially started as a branch company of Ardeshir's Imperial Film Company. Several key figures from Imperial, such as Mehboob Khan were shifted to Sagar. The studio was in operation from 1930 to 1939. In 1940, it combined with General Pictures to form National Studios. It made "Parsi theatre based films, mythologicals and stunt movies". Sagar fostered the career of many artists who rose to prominence. Early directors such as Prafulla Ghosh, Sarvottam Badami, Ezra Mir and Nanubhai Vakil were promoted by the company. Mehboob Khan got his first break as a director in Al Hilal in 1935. He was referred to as "the most important alumnus" from Sagar, who went on to become one of Indian cinema's "most influential film-makers".
Mazhar Khan was an actor, producer, and director in Indian Cinema. He started his career as a police officer, which he left to study law for a short period. After abandoning his studies, he came to Bombay and started his career in cinema with the silent film Fatal Garland (1928) opposite the top actress of the time, Ermeline. He became a popular actor, gaining success in several silent films. During his stint in silent films he worked with well-established directors such as Bhagwati Prasad Mishra, Ezra Mir, Moti P. Bhagnani, R. S. Chowdhary, and M. D. Bhavnani. Magazines in the 1940s compared Khan to Hollywood actors such as Paul Muni, Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff.
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).
