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INDIAN FILM EVENTS AND THE 1940S

Madhubala in scene from Bollywood film, "Mahal" (1949)

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Film World Events of the 1940s

1940 - Movie Mogul Himanshu Rai (1892-1940) passes away. He was founder of Bombay Talkies which was responsible for a number of early hits including "Goddess" (1922), "Light of Asia" (1925), and "Karma" (1933).

Himanshu Rai
1940 - The Film Advisory Board is established to promote propaganda films to aid the "war effort". The F.A.B. is given a monopoly control over all raw film stock in India.
1940-1941 - World War II causes there to be a restriction on the availability of raw film stock. By 1941, annual production of Hindi films dropped to 78 (In 1935 there were 154 Hindi films made.)
1941 - The first film in Pashtu is made. It is Laila Majnu made by Sarhad Pictures
1941 - Mukesh's first film "Nirdosh" is released. In this film he both acts as well as sings.

Mukesh
1943 - Asha Bhonsle sings for her first film "Majha Bal".
1943 - The film "Kismet" is released. This became one of the biggest hits of the time, and raised the stature of the music director Anil Biswas to national levels.
1943 - Singer Manna Dey first comes to national attention through the sucess of "Tamanna"

Manna Dey
1944 - Dilip Kumar makes his film debut in "Jwar Bhata"

Dilip Kumar
1944 - Dadasaheb Phalke, the "Father of Indian Cinema" dies at the age of 73.
1945 - Hindi Film industry continues to suffer from wartime restrictions and shortages. Only 74 Hindi films are made this year.
1945 - Playback singer Hemant Kumar marries actress Bela Mukherjee
1946 - Hindi Film industry rebounds after the War. In this year, 156 Hindi films are made.
1946 - Actor / playback singer / film-maker Kishore Kumar gets his first role in "Shikari"

Kishore Kumar
1946 - Chetan Anand's "Neecha Nagar" shown at the Cannes Film Festival. This film featured the music of Ravi Shankar.
1946 - Information Films of India, one of the offshoots of the old Film Advisory Board, is disbanded.
1947 - The film "Sindur" creates a stir by dealing with the topic of Hindu widow remarriage.

Scene from "Sindoor"
1947 - Udaya Studios, the first film studio in Kerala, opens.
1947 - Actor / singer Saigal passes away in Jalandar.

K. L. Saigal
1947-1948 - Noor Jehan (actress/ vocalist) and a number of Hindi film talents leave India for Pakistan.

Noor Jehan
1948 - Raj Kapoor's RK Films opens. Its first film is "Aag"
1948 - Nehru orders a freeze on the construction of all new movie theatres.
1948 - Playback singer Hemant Kumar teams up with music director and composer Salil Chowdhury to record Ganyer Badhu. Unfortunately when the song is relaeased, Salil Chowdhury is unable to attend, because he is wanted by the police for his political activities with the Communist Party of India.
1949 - The Indian government orders compulsory showing of "approved" documentary films.
1949 - After working in the film industry for several years, Lata Mangeshkar has her first hit with Aayega Aanewaala.

Lata Mangeshkar with Tanpura
1949 - Entertainment taxes are increased. Around the country theatres close in protest of these tax increases.
1949 - The "A"(Adult) and "U"(Unrestricted) classifications are officially established.
1949 - Music director SD Burman leaves in the middle of the film "Mashaal". Reportedly, he is angry about the lack of artistic integrity and the entire nature of the Bombay film field. He resolves to move back to Calcutta, but is persuaded to stay. He later becomes one of the Hindi film industry's greatest music directors.

Music director S.D. Burman with harmonium
1949 - The Films Division is established
Actor / playback singer Talat Mahmood, shifts his residence from Calcutta to Bombay to work in the Hindi film industry

Talat Mahmood at performance