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Elaan
1947 133’ b&w Urdu d/p Mehboob Khan pc Mehboob Prod. s/lyr Zia Sarhadi c Faredoon Irani m Naushad lp Surendra, Munawar Sultana, Himalaywala Rehana, Leela Mishra, Zebunissa, Wazir Mohammed Khan, Reeta, Shahida, Shabnam, Gazi
Story of two half-brothers, the evil Sajjad (Himalaywala) and the good Javed (Surendra). Exploited since his childhood by the richer and crueller branch of the family, represented by Sajjad and his mother (Zebunissa), Javed loses his beloved (Munawar Sultana), bought by Sajjad’s family wealth. The fortunes of the two brothers change: Sajjad gambles away his wealth while Javed becomes a noted lawyer. In a fit of desperation, Sajjad wants to kill his son but is himself killed by his mother. His widow turns down Javed’s offer of marriage and instead starts a school in her family palace, partly to make amends for the family’s vile behaviour. This was Mehboob’s most stylised Muslim social with quasi-expressionist acting enhanced by an ornate decor and Irani’s heavily shaded camerawork. The final song, Insaan ki tarkeeb, carried the film’s anti-feudal message, addressed to the camera by a purdah- clad Munawar Sultana.