Basant (1942)

Basant ("spring") was made by Bombay Talkies, the studio that shaped much of early Hindi cinema, and directed by Amiya Chakravarty, who would go on to make Daag and Patita. Mumtaz Shanti, one of the leading heroines of the war years, stars with Ulhas in a musical family drama. The film is best known today for two things: its music, by the celebrated flautist Pannalal Ghosh, who composed for only a handful of films, and the appearance of nine-year-old Baby Mumtaz, credited under her real name, who later became Madhubala. Basant was a major box-office success in 1942.