Legends of Hindi cinema’s golden age

The two decades after independence are often called the golden age of Hindi cinema. Films grappled with the hopes and anxieties of a new nation, music reached heights rarely matched since, and a handful of stars became legends. Here are the people who defined that era.

The great trio

Three actors dominated the period. Dilip Kumar, the “Tragedy King”, brought a restrained, naturalistic style to films such as Devdas and Mughal-e-Azam and won the first Filmfare Award for Best Actor. Raj Kapoor created a lovable, Chaplin-like tramp in Awaara and Shree 420 and became famous across the Soviet Union and beyond. Dev Anand played the charming urban hero in crime films such as Baazi and C.I.D. and gave his finest performance in Guide. Although rivals at the box office, the three were friends, and each represented a different idea of the modern Indian man.

The leading ladies

Nargis starred opposite Raj Kapoor in sixteen films and gave one of Indian cinema’s greatest performances in Mother India (1957), the first Indian film nominated for an Academy Award. Madhubala, celebrated for her beauty and comic timing, created the unforgettable Anarkali in Mughal-e-Azam (1960) while battling a serious heart condition.

The voices

The songs of the golden age are still sung across South Asia. Lata Mangeshkar became the dominant female voice of Hindi film, while Mohammed Rafi sang everything from devotional songs to romantic duets. Kishore Kumar, who began as a comic actor, developed into one of the most versatile singers in film history. Composers such as S. D. Burman, Naushad and Shankar–Jaikishan wrote melodies around these voices.

The art cinema alternative

While Bombay made popular films, Satyajit Ray in Calcutta made Pather Panchali (1955), which won a prize at Cannes and announced a different kind of Indian cinema — quiet, realist and deeply humane.

Why the golden age still matters

Many themes of these films — the honest poor against the corrupt rich, the village against the city, love across class and religion — reflected the idealism of the Nehru years. Their songs remain the soundtrack of family gatherings, and their stars still set the standard against which later actors are measured. Classics such as Mughal-e-Azam were even re-released in colour decades later and drew new audiences.