India's first talkie film was Alam Ara (Light of the
Universe). The film was released on March 14, 1931 at Majestic Cinema in
Bombay. Alam Ara was made under the banner of Imperial Movietone. It was
produced and directed by Ardeshir Marwan Irani. The film was based on a
successful Parsi play of the same name, written by Joseph David. The
star cast of Alam Ara included some of the popular stars of the silent
era like Prithviraj Kapoor, L.V. Prasad, W.M. Khan, Master Vithal and
Zubeida.
Alam Ara exploited the technological wonder of sound to the full. It
had opulent sets and made rich use of music, song, and dance. Alam Ara
had seven songs. The film took two months to complete. There were
several technical hitches in sound recording. At that time there were no
sound proof stages and most of the film was shot indoors and during
night. Since the film was shot close to a railway track, the unit had to
wait till the trains ceased to operate to begin the shoot.
