The Indian movie, Alam Ara, directed by Ardeshir Irani, was the first Indian film with sound. Irani recognized the importance that sound would have on the cinema, and raced to complete Alam Ara before several other contemporary sound films. The film was based on a Parsi play written by Joseph David. David later served as a writer at Irani`s film company. Alam Ara introduced at the Majestic Cinema in Bombay on March 14, 1931. The movie, and its music was widely successful, and marked as well. The film was inspired by Rodgers and Hammerstein`s Show Boat by Universal Pictures.

The film`s promotional posters were very interesting. One of them was written on it as `All living. Breathing. 100 per cent talking.` One of the others was even more inviting. It said, `78 murda insaan zinda ho gaye. Unko bolte dekho.` The curiosity was irresistible. Crowds thronged to watch Alam Ara, India`s first talking movie, police had really a tough time to control the avid onlookers.

Soundproof studios were not present at that time. The director faced a lot of problems, as the studio was present near the railway tracks. The crew needs to wait till night so that the trains stopped. Huge microphones were intelligently hidden to avoid being captured on film. The hard work paid off. Alam Ara not only became a runaway success, it also became the template of future.

In the transition from silence to sound, many studios fell through the cracks. Fluency in Hindi and Urdu became important and because of this reason Anglo-Indian actors suffered and so did firang films. Arrival of sound also gave birth to singing stars who could effectively deliver dialogues.

Synopsis of the Indian movie `Alam Ara`
The story centers on an imaginary, historical royal family in the kingdom of Kumarpur. The main characters are the king and his two warring wives Dilbahar and Navbahar. Their rivalry escalates when a fakir predicts that Navbahar will bear the king`s heir. Dilbahar, in revenge, attempts to have an affair with the kingdom`s chief minister Adil. The affair goes sour and a revengeful Dilbahar imprisons him and exiles his daughter, Alam Ara played by Zubeida. In exile, Alam Ara is brought up by Gypsies. Upon returning to the palace at Kumarpur, Alam Ara meets and falls in love with the charming young prince played by Master Vithal.

The film is however a happy ending when at the end, Adil is released, Dilbahar is punished and the lovers marry. Apparently this film is no longer available in any format and even the National Film Archive does not have a copy.

Cast and crew of `Alam Ara`
The star cast of the film includes Master Vithal, Zubeida, Jillo, J. Sushila, Prithviraj Kapoor, Elizer, Wazir Mohammed Khan, Jagdish Sethi, and L. V. Prasad. The movie is directed by Ardeshir Irani while it is produced by Imperial Movietone. Cinematography is done by Wilford Deming and Adi M. Irani.