Harleen singh at 23:14, 3 March 2026

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{{Short description|1946 film by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}}
{{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox film
| name = {{Lang|hi-latn|Dharti Ke Lal}}
| image =
| caption =
| director = [[Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]]
| writer = Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (screenplay, dialogue), [[Bijon Bhattacharya]] (screenplay), [[Krishan Chander]] (story),
| story = Krishan Chander
| producer = Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, [[Indian People's Theatre Association|IPTA]] Pictures
| starring = [[Balraj Sahni]] [[Tripti Mitra]] [[Sombhu Mitra]]
| cinematography = Jamnadas Kapadia
| editing =
| music = [[Ravi Shankar]]
| distributor =
| released = {{Film date|1946|08|30|df=yes}}
| runtime = 125 mins
| country = India
| language = [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]
}}
[[File:Usha Dutt and Shombhu Mitra in Dharti Ke Lal.jpg|thumb|300px|Usha Dutt and Shombhu Mitra in {{Lang|hi-latn|Dharti Ke Lal}}]]
'''{{Lang|hi-latn|Dharti Ke Lal}}''' ({{IPA|hi|'d̪ʱəɾ.t̪iː 'keː 'lɑːl}}; {{translation|''Children of the Earth''}}) is a 1946 [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]] film, the first directorial venture of the noted film director [[Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]] (K. A. Abbas). It was jointly written by [[Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]] and [[Bijon Bhattacharya]], based on plays by Bhattacharya and the story ''Annadata'' by [[Krishan Chander]]. The film had music by [[Ravi Shankar]], with lyrics by [[Ali Sardar Jafri]], Nemichand Jain, Vamiq, and [[Prem Dhawan]].

The film was based on the [[Bengal famine of 1943]], which killed millions of [[Bengali people]], and was one of the first films in [[Indian cinema]]'s [[Parallel Cinema|social-realist movement]].<ref name="Rajadhyaksha">{{cite book|last=Rajadhyaksha|first=Ashish|title=Indian Cinema: A Very Short Introduction|date=2016|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=9780191034770|page=61|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QUq1DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT61|language=en|access-date=3 November 2017|archive-date=30 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230830091734/https://books.google.com/books?id=QUq1DAAAQBAJ&pg=PT61|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1949, {{Lang|hi-latn|Dharti Ke Lal}} also became the first Indian film to receive widespread distribution in the [[Soviet Union]] (USSR),<ref>[http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19970530/15050623.html Dharti Ke Lal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908194406/http://www.indianexpress.com/static/sorry/ |date=8 September 2012 }} [[Indian Express]].</ref> which led to the country becoming a major [[List of highest-grossing Indian films in overseas markets|overseas market]] for [[Indian films]].<ref name="Rajadhyaksha"/><ref>{{cite news|title=With love from India to Russia|url=https://www.rbth.com/articles/2009/10/22/221009_indianfilms.html|work=[[Russia Beyond]]|date=22 October 2009|access-date=3 November 2017|archive-date=16 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816062142/https://www.rbth.com/articles/2009/10/22/221009_indianfilms.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Overview==
{{Lang|hi-latn|Dharti Ke Lal}} was critically acclaimed for its scathing view of the notorious [[Bengal famine of 1943]], in which millions of [[Bengali people|Bengalis]] died.<ref name="Rajadhyaksha"/> It is considered an important political film as it gives a realistic portrayal of the changing social and economic climate during [[World War II]].

The film uses the plight of a single family caught in this famine, and tells the story of human devastation, and the loss of humanity during the struggle to survive.

During the Bengal famine of 1943, members of the [[Indian People's Theatre Association|IPTA]] travelled all over India, performing plays and collecting funds for the survivors of the famine, which destroyed a whole generation of farmer families in Bengal.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/India/indian_arts.html |title=Indian arts |access-date=27 September 2007 |archive-date=20 October 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020044817/http://www.islamawareness.net/Asia/India/indian_arts.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
Thus Abbas was deeply influenced by the work of IPTA, and hence based his script upon two of IPTA's plays, ''[[Nabanna (play)|Nabanna]]'' (Harvest) and ''Jabanbandi'' by [[Bijon Bhattacharya]], and the story ''Annadata'' by [[Krishan Chander]]. Even the cast of the film was mainly actors from IPTA.

The film marked another chapter in the influential new wave in Indian cinema, which focussed on socially relevant themes as in ''[[Neecha Nagar]]'' (1946), made by [[Chetan Anand (producer & director)|Chetan Anand]], also scripted by Abbas, and which continued with Bimal Roy's ''[[Do Bigha Zamin]]'' (1953).

It was the first and perhaps the only film produced by [[Indian People's Theatre Association|IPTA]] (Indian People's Theater Association) and remains one of the important Hindi films of that decade. The film marked the screen debut of [[Zohra Sehgal]] and also gave actor [[Balraj Sahni]] his first important on screen role.<ref>[http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/sep/20dinesh.htm Balraj Sahani] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019072434/http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/sep/20dinesh.htm |date=19 October 2012 }} [[Rediff.com]].</ref>

''[[The New York Times]]'' called it "...a gritty realistic drama."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/143924/Dharti-Ke-Lal/overview |title=Dharti Ke Lal - Trailer - Cast - Showtimes - NYTimes.com |website=movies.nytimes.com |access-date=14 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430072153/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/143924/Dharti-Ke-Lal/overview |archive-date=30 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

It proved to be tremendously influential not only to future filmmakers who admired its neorealist-like qualities—but also to intellectuals of India's left-wing.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100430072153/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/143924/Dharti-Ke-Lal/overview Dharti ke Lal Overview] ''[[The New York Times]]''</ref>

==Cast==

* [[Tripti Mitra]]
* [[Sombhu Mitra]]
* [[Balraj Sahni]]
* [[Rashid Ahmed]]
* Damayanti Sahni (Balraj Sahni's actual wife)
* [[Rashid Khan (actor)|Rashid Khan]]
* [[K. N. Singh]]
* [[David Abraham Cheulkar|David]]
* [[Zohra Sehgal]]
* Snehaprabha

==Notes==
<references/>

==References==
* ''Dictionary of Films'' (Berkeley: U. of CA Press, 1977), p. 84.
* Vasudev and Lenglet, eds., ''Indian Cinema Super-bazaar'' (New Delhi: Vikas, 1978).
* Shyamala A. Narayan, ''The Journal of Commonwealth Literature'', 1 1976; vol. 11: pp. 82 – 94.
* Amir Ullah Khan and Bibek Debroy, ''Indian Economic Transition through Bollywood Eyes''.

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0038475}}

{{K. A. Abbas}}

[[Category:1946 films]]
[[Category:1946 Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:1946 Indian films]]
[[Category:Films based on Indian short stories]]
[[Category:Films scored by Ravi Shankar]]
[[Category:Indian films based on plays]]
[[Category:Films about famine]]
[[Category:Films directed by K. A. Abbas]]
[[Category:Films set in 1943]]
[[Category:Films set in India]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas]]
[[Category:1940s Urdu-language films]]
[[Category:Urdu-language Indian films]]
[[Category:Indian World War II films]]
[[Category:Indian black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Indian drama films]]
[[Category:1946 drama films]]
[[Category:1946 directorial debut films]]
[[Category:World War II films made in wartime]]
[[Category:Films set on the home front during World War II]]

Dharti Ke Lal - Revision history

Harleen singh at 23:14, 3 March 2026