हीर रांझा

The immortal Punjabi love story of Heer and Ranjha — crystallised in Waris Shah's poetry. J.P. Advani's film for Krishnatone was an early attempt to bring to the screen the folk romance that would become one of Hindi-Punjabi cinema's defining subjects.

Seven songs documented; Ali Baksh served as music director, with W.Z. Khan credited as a singer by at least one contemporary source. Instrumental and vocal in the Punjabi-Urdu folk and ghazal idiom.

Ali Baksh's involvement connects this 1931 film to a remarkable biographical thread: his daughter Mahjabeen Bano, later known as Meena Kumari, would become one of Hindi cinema's greatest tragic heroines — born just a few years later into the family of this early-talkie musician.

The first Heer Ranjha of the Hindi talkie era; a touchstone story that Indian cinema would revisit across generations; music by Ali Baksh — later known as the father of Meena Kumari.

The first of many Heer Ranjha films in Indian cinema — a foundational genre version at the very dawn of sound; Ali Baksh is a minor but historically noted figure in the transition-era music world.