Abrar Alvi

Abrar Alvi was born on 1st July, 1927. He was a distinguished and reputed Indian director, actor, and writer. He selflessly devoted more than 50 years to Indian cinema. In the 1950's and 60's, he executed projects with Guru Dutt Born on 9th July 1925, Guru Dutt was an Indian act >> Read More... that ignited a fire in the film industry.

It was an accident of fate that he met Guru Dutt on the shooting sets of ‘Baz’, in 1953, when Dutt was facing certain problems with the dialogues, and in turn was assisted and helped by him. Dutt was so impressed by his talent that he extended him the offer for writing ‘Aar-Par’, from where he embarked on a new journey with the actor, and essentially became the most integral part of his team. His classical writings have earned him recognition and glory, all around the world.

Aar-Par, Mr. and Mrs., Kaagaz Ke Phool, ‘Pyaasa’, and Chaudhvin Ka Chand were some of his movies that triumphed. Guru Dutt established and founded his personal studio sets after a round of success of his films like ‘ Baazi Story soon >> Read More... ’, 'Jaal’, Aar Paar, and ‘CID’.

In 1962, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, was a Hindi film directed by Abrar Alvi and Guru Dutt being its producer. The concept is derived from Bimal Mitra's novel and gives an insight into the catastrophic decline of feudalism in Bengal during imperial rule. It's well known for its cinematography. The film emerged as a commercial and critical uproar. Meena Kumari's performance, as stated by critics, is considered to be one of the most unbeaten shows of Hindi cinema. The film won four Filmfare Awards and got nominated at the 11th Berlin International Film Festival for the Golden Bear, which marked India's official entry to the Oscars.

Abrar's work was recognized, and he received the President's Award for Best Feature Film- Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, in 1962. He has also been adjudged as the Filmfare Best Director, in 1962. However, the direction of the movie under whom proved to be a controversial subject. Some regarded that it was Guru Dutt, alone, who was responsible and some credited Abrar.

He made his premier debut in Laila-Majnu, a film of 1976, by making a guest appearance and in 12 o'clock (1958), as the police inspector.

His last appearance is considered as his contribution to Guru Dutt's documentary, remembering the time spent with him and his team, calling it the golden period of his career. However, he continued to pen down dialogues and screenplays for several other movies like ‘Professor’, ‘ Prince Click to look into! >> Read More... ’, ‘Saathi’, Laila-Majnu, and many others. His last work was ‘ Guddu Guddu is an Urdu Pakistani show that premiered on >> Read More... ’, that released in 1995. He passed away on 18th November, 2009, at Lokhandwala, Andheri West Mumbai, after suffering an acute stomach compilation. He lived for 82 years. His contributions to the field go beyond any doubt and constitute the glorious years of Indian cinema.