Light of the World) is a 1931 film directed by Ardeshir Irani. It was the first Indian sound film.[1][2] Irani recognized the importance that sound would have on the cinema, and raced to complete Alam Ara before several contemporary sound films. Alam Ara debuted at the Majestic Cinema in Mumbai (then Bombay) on March 14, 1931. The first Indian talkie was so popular that "police aid had to be summoned to control the crowds."[3] Synopsis
Alam Ara still
Newspaper advertisement for Alam Ara, 1931
The film is a love story between a prince and a gypsy girl, based on a Parsi play written by Joseph David. David later served as a writer at Irani's film company. The story centers on an imaginary, historical royal family in the kingdom of Kumarpur. The main characters are the king and his two warring wives Dilbahar and Navbahar. Their rivalry escalates when a fakir predicts that Navbahar will bear the king's heir. Dilbahar, in revenge, attempts to have an affair with the kingdom's chief minister Adil. The affair goes sour and a vengeful Dilbahar imprisons him and exiles his daughter, Alam Ara (Zubeida). In exile, Alam Ara is brought up by Gypsies. Upon returning to the palace at Kumarpur, Alam Ara meets and falls in love with the charming young prince (Master Vithal). In the end, Adil is released, Dilbahar is punished and the lovers marry. After the fire at National Film Archive of India, Pune, in 2003, which destroyed the last surviving prints of several
classics such as Raja Harishchandra and Achhut Kanya,
this film is no longer available in its original format.[4] Production Ardeshir Irani handled the sound recording department, using the Tanar Sound System. It was shot with the Tanar single-system camera, which recorded sound directly onto the film. Since there were no soundproof studios available at the time, the shooting was done mostly at night, to avoid daytime noises, with microphones hidden near the actors.[5] Soundtrack
Ardeshir Irani recording Alam Ara, 1931
The film had music by Ferozshah M. Mistri and B. Irani, and had seven songs:
De de khuda ke naam pe: Wazir Mohammed Khan
Badla Dilwayega Ya Rabb: Zubeida[8] Rutha Hai Asman gum ho gaya mahatab: Jillu Teri Kaatil nigahon ne mara De dil ko aaram aye saki gulfam Bhar bhar ke jam pila ja sagar ke chalane bala Daras bina mare hai tarse naina pyare
Zubeida Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir (Urdu: ( ) 19881911) was an Indian film actress. She acted in the first Indian talkie movie Alam Ara (1931).[1] Her credits include early hits Devdas (1937), and Sagar Movietone's first talkie, Meri Jaan.
Originally from Surat, she was the daughter of Fatma
Begum. She became a notable film actress and India's first woman film director and was the sister of actressess Shahzadi and Sultana. In the presence of seasoned actors like Prithviraj Kapoor and Master Vithal, Zubeida blossomed and wowed everyone with her singing, dancing and her speech. Zubeida was one of Indian cinema's earliest superstars and among the few girls who entered films at a time when it wasn't considered an appropriate profession for girls from respectable families, let alone Royalty. Born in Surat, Zubeida was a stunningly beautiful princess, the daughter of the Nawab of Sachin and Fatima Begum. Zubeida and
her two sisters, Sultana and Shehzadi, egged on by their
actress mother who was to become India's first woman director, entered films at a very young age. Biography Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in Kohinoor. Through the 20s she made infrequent appearances on screen along with Sultana who by then had become one of Indian cinema's loveliest leading ladies. One of the films to star the two sisters was Kalyan Khajina in 1924. They had also shared the screen in Zubeida's first blockbuster, Veer Abhimanyu released two years earlier, that also had their mother, Fatima Begum playing an important role. In 1925 Zubeida had nine releases, amongst them Kala Chor, Devdasi and Desh Ka Dushman. A year later she starred in her mother's film, Bulbul-e-Parista. 1927 was memorable for her with movies Laila Majnu, Nanand Bhojai and Naval Gandhi's Sacrifice which were very successful movies at this time. The latter, based on Rabindranath Tagore's 'Balidaan', also starred Sulochana, Master Vithal and Jal Khambatta. It condemned the age-old custom of animal sacrifice in certain Kali temples in Bengal. The Members of the Indian Cinematograph Committee were wowed by this "excellent and truly Indian film". Its European members recommended that it be sent abroad for screening.