[1][2] Dealing with the trials and tribulations of a middle-class family, the film stars Nutan, Shyama, Durga Khote, Balraj Sahni and Sajjan in lead roles.

[4] Rajendra Kumar was first signed by producer Shah to play the part of Anand, but a few days into the filming was replaced by Sajjan.

"[3] Author Meghnad Desai described it as a "film about the problems faced by a lower middle class family", noting the acting of Nutan and Sahni, and calling it "a conscious criticism of how ordinary people were oppressed in their daily struggle against forces of power and wealth".

[4] Author and biographer T. J. S. George wrote, "Zia Sarhadi's Humlog (1951) about the frustrations of the middle class was rendered sensitively by an inspired Balraj Sahni and a convincingly consumptive Nutan.

"[12] Hum Log went on to form part of Sarhadi's trilogy of films made in the 1950s, along with Footpath (1953) and Awaaz (1956).