परख

A 1944 Hindi social drama directed by Sohrab Modi for Central Studios in Bombay, notable as the screen debut of Mehtab — the aristocratic Gujarati Muslim actress whom Modi would later marry and sign to his own Minerva banner. Built in the prevalent social-melodrama idiom of the wartime studios, the film's enduring interest lies less in its plot than in its richly layered soundtrack, which paired the young composer Khurshid Anwar with veteran Saraswati Devi.

The score is split between two distinct hands: Khurshid Anwar composed seven of the nine songs in his characteristically melody-led, classically informed manner, while Saraswati Devi — one of Hindi cinema's pioneering women composers — contributed two. The lyrics were divided among Gafil Harnalvi, Arzoo Lakhnavi and Pandit Sudarshan. Ira Nigam and Kaushalya carry most of the documented vocals.

Parakh marks the film debut of Mehtab and stands as an early showcase for composer Khurshid Anwar, whose refined, raga-aware compositional sensibility — later celebrated across the subcontinent — was still taking shape in the Bombay studios of the mid-1940s. The unusual two-composer arrangement, with Anwar handling seven songs and Saraswati Devi two, makes the soundtrack a study in contrasting prewar idioms.