1940s Indian Movies

A humble villager should win the love of a princess.

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Meera, a zealous devotee of Lord Krishna, considers him to be her husband. She gets married to Rana Bhojraj, but follows her own way of living which is not acceptable to her husband and the society.

King Rajendra Varman and Queen Mrinalini are reigning the Vyjayanti empire. Mahendra Varman is the rival and the neighbouring king. Kannika is the minister’s daughter, who is in love with King Rajendra Varman and aims to attain him at any cost. This convoluted tale of palace intrigue, suspicion, unreciprocated love, seduction, villainy and piety was interspersed with excellent music.

Nallathambi (NSK) a simple rural man inherits an estate from his deceased Zamindar relative. The Zamindar's daughter Pushpa (Bhanumathi) falls in love with Nallathambi. However he loves another girl (T. A. Madhuram). Bhoopathy (Sahasranamam) the estate manager has his eye on the wealth and tries to cheat Nallathambi out of it. He goads Pushpa into filing a suit that Nallathambi is mentally insane. In the end Nallathambi defeats Bhoopathy's machinations.

Mayalokam is a 1945 Telugu-language film produced and directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam under the Sarathi Films banner. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao and S. Varalakshmi.

Based on age-old Buddhist folklore connected with Mauryan Emperor Ashoka's son Kunal.

Based on the Hindu mythological story of Prahlada and his devotion to the god Maha Vishnu.

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Directed by Homi Wadia.

A young man gets jailed for killing a woman who seduces him. When he gets released, he tries to stop his employer's son from committing the same kind of crime he did.

An early Indian film that explored social issues or class differences within its narrative, it highlight a commentary on contemporary societal norms, inequalities, or interactions.

1947 Tamil film

A drama symbolizing a new beginning, hope, or a significant turning point

A cashier faces false allegations for killing an actress, so he needs to prove his innocence.

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Brothers Veer and Shashank fall in love with Chandralekha. Shashank kidnaps her and forces her to marry him. She requests a special drum dance prior to the wedding. The drums, however, hold a secret.

Thyagaraja, a saint and a poet, overcomes many hurdles in his life, including grinding poverty to emerge as the greatest Carnatic music composers of all time.

Mumtaz Mahal tells the story of Shah Jahan and his wife Mumtaz Mahal, tracing their deep love, her death during childbirth, and his grief that leads him to build the Taj Mahal in her memory.

They are in love - have grown up together. Circumstances lead her to get married to a older man with a small child who does not accept her physically after having seen her face for the first time - he feels guilty that she has been cheated upon and her youth has been snatched away. One day she returns home to meet her childhood friend.

Kardar’s ultra-conservative ode to patriarchy tells of Binod (Jairaj) and Indira (Sitara Devi) who were married as children and never meet as adults. Indira grows into a ‘modern’ young woman while Binod, disinherited when his stepfather has a son, works in a distant village. Indira haughtily refuses a relationship with a pauper but she eventually realises her duties to her husband and goes to meet him disguised as Shanta, a beggar woman. Binod then falls in love with her, not realising she is in fact his wife.

In between his more ambitious Najma (1943) and Humayun (1945), Mehboob made this lightweight comedy about Justice Gangaprasad (Chandramohan) and theatre-owner Seth Badriprasad (Charlie) who lose their daughter and son respectively in the Kumbh Mela.

In order to obtain supreme power, an evil saint must sacrifice 1000 men. Soon, he hatches a devious plan and persuades a princess to pose three extremely difficult questions to her suitors.

Sukumar is misled into investing all his savings in the moviemaking business. However, things take a turn when he ends up debt-ridden and at the mercy of the law.

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A spiritual journey of a young shepherd boy named Dhanna. Despite facing skepticism and challenges from his family and the local Zamindar, Dhanna's unwavering devotion to God leads him to perform miracles and ultimately triumph over adversity, showcasing the power of pure faith.

Two look-alike sisters, one good and one evil, are at odds. The evil sister, a criminal, frames her innocent twin for her misdeeds. The good sister must then expose her criminal sibling to clear her name.

Jnanambika, the heroine of the film, is the daughter of a wealthy landlord, Rajasekharan. After the death of her mother, her father marries again. Rajamani, the villainous second wife tortures Jnanambika, forcing her to run away from home.

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The story centres around a fisherman Sankaran who loses his wife struggles to bring up his two daughters Nirmala and Vimala. Sankaran’s sister Kalyani looks after the family. Sankaran meets with an accidental death while on a fishing expedition. Nirmala becomes a fish vendor.

Yusuf moves to Bombay with his wife to prove himself but gets entangled with a glamorous woman, putting his marriage and values to the test.

Aziz, an unemployed graduate, turns to crime after his brother’s death and ends up in prison. Years later, he escapes, becomes a gang leader, and unknowingly falls in love with his long-lost sister, leading to a tragic confrontation with the police.

It is a biographical film based on the life of Potana, who translated Bhagavatam into the Telugu language.

A Bollywood film.

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Chellam begins to suspect her husband, Dr. Vembu, of having an extramarital affair after spotting him with another woman.

During the Partition of India, Mohini is abducted and raped. Upon returning to her family, she faces rejection from society. In revenge, she becomes a smuggler, dealing in illegal arms. She falls for fellow refugee Satish, and when he's implicated, she confesses and surrenders.

Prem Nagar is a small, happy and contented village somewhere in India. A tiny spark of anger flared up a misunderstanding, a quarrel, jealousy, and greed: So grew envy. This envy burst out into a flame and the flame nearly destroyed the whole village.

A rich, happy-go-lucky young man lives with his faithful man-servant. The young man gets married to a well-to-do woman who is more educated than him, and she changes him to a more responsible person