Alam Ara

Alam Ara
A poster for Alam Ara featuring the lead cast.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byArdeshir Irani
Screenplay byArdeshir Irani
Based onAlam Ara
by Joseph David
Produced byArdeshir Irani
Starring
CinematographyAdi M. Irani
Edited byEzra Mir
Music by
  • Firozshah Mistry
  • B. Irani
Production
company
Imperial Film Company
Distributed bySagar Movietone
Release date
  • 14 March 1931 (1931-03-14)
Running time
124 minutes[1]
CountryBritish India
LanguageHindustani
Budget40,000[2]

Alam Ara (transl. Ornament of the World) is a 1931 Indian Hindustani-language historical fantasy film directed and produced by Ardeshir Irani. It revolves around a king and his two wives, Navbahaar and Dilbahaar, who are childless; soon, a fakir (Muhammad Wazir Khan) tells the king that the former wife will give birth to a boy, later named Qamar (Master Vithal), but the child will die following his 18th birthday if Navbahaar cannot find the necklace he asks for. Meanwhile, the king finds out that Dilbahaar falls for the senapati Adil (Prithviraj Kapoor), leading the king to arrest him and evicts his pregnant wife, who later gives birth to Alam Ara (Zubeida).

Irani was inspired to make Alam Ara after watching the 1929 American part-talkie Show Boat. The story was adapted from the Bombay-based dramatist Joseph David's play of the same name. Made on a budget of 40,000 (equivalent to 12 million or US$150,000 in 2023), principal photography was handled by Adi M. Irani within four months in Bombay. Because the studio was located near a railway track, it was filmed mostly during the nighttime to avoid noise from the active trains. Following filming, Ardeshir Irani finished the sound recording using the single-system recording. Firozshah Mistry and B. Irani served as the music directors.

Alam Ara was released on 14 March 1931 and performed well at the box office. Critics were appreciative, with the performance and songs getting the most attention, though some of whom criticised the sound recording. In addition to the successes, the film was also widely considered a major breakthrough for the Indian film industry and Ardeshir Irani's career with its status as the country's first sound film. Although no print or gramophone record of the film is known to survive, making it a lost film, surviving artefacts include its stills and posters. In 2017, the British Film Institute declared it as the most important of any lost films produced in India.