Dharti Ke Lal

The film had music by Ravi Shankar, with lyrics by Ali Sardar Jafri, Nemichand Jain, Vamiq, and Prem Dhawan.

[1][3] Dharti Ke Lal was critically acclaimed for its scathing view of the notorious Bengal famine of 1943, in which millions of Bengalis died.

[1] It is considered an important political film as it gives a realistic portrayal of the changing social and economic climate during World War II.

The film marked another chapter in the influential new wave in Indian cinema, which focussed on socially relevant themes as in Neecha Nagar (1946), made by Chetan Anand, also scripted by Abbas, and which continued with Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953).

"[6] It proved to be tremendously influential not only to future filmmakers who admired its neorealist-like qualities—but also to intellectuals of India's left-wing.