Born in Badaun, Ismat Chugtai was the only woman to rank among the important figures of the 40s Urdu literary scene. Her stories were often controversial, set in the middle class milieu and the characters pushed against convention. One, Lihaaf (1942), led to an obscenity trial at Lahore. Married to producer Shaheed Latif, she was involved in some of his films, for example Ziddi (1948). The film was Dev Anand`s first success. Chugtai worked as scenarist and producer on a few of Latif`s films - Arzoo (1950), Darwaza (1954), Society (1955), and Sone Ki Chidiya (1958). Also, she wrote for and co-directed Faraib (1953); directed the children`s film Jawaab Ayega (1968) and My Dreams (1975), a documentary. Chugtai wrote the dialogues for Junoon (1978), a Shyam Benegal film, and for Barkha Bahar (1973) as well as for Mehfil (1978); the story for Garam Hawa (1973) - a major film set in the turbulence of the Partition of India.