Bari Behen (1949)

Bari Behen ('elder sister') is a black-and-white Hindi social drama about devotion and sacrifice within a family. Suraiya plays the elder sister who struggles to raise and protect her sibling, putting aside her own chances of love and happiness, while misunderstandings and the selfishness of others make her path harder. Rehman and Pran co-star, and a young Geeta Bali appears in one of her early roles. The film was a major success of 1949, and its music by the composer duo Husnlal–Bhagatram was hugely popular, especially Suraiya's song Woh paas rahen ya door rahen, which remains one of the best-remembered songs of the late 1940s.