Alam Ara

Alam Ara
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ardeshir Irani
Produced by	Imperial Movietone
Written by	Joseph David Munshi Zaheer (Urdu)
Starring	Master Vithal Zubeida Jilloo Sushila Prithviraj Kapoor
Music by	Ferozshah M. Mistri B. Irani
Cinematography	Wilford Deming Adi M. Irani
Edited by	Ezra Mir
Release date	14 March 1931
Running time	124 mins
Country	British India (Now India & Pakistan)
Language	Urdu
Budget	₹390 million (US$5.8 million)(Adjusted)
Box office	₹2.89 billion (US$43 million) (Adjusted)

Alam Ara (Hindi: आलम आरा, Urdu: عالم آراء‎, translation: The Ornament of the World) is a 1931 Indian Bollywood Hindi/Urdu film directed by Ardeshir Irani. It was the first Indian sound film.

Irani recognised the importance that sound would have on the cinema, and raced to complete Alam Ara before several contemporary sound films. Alam Ara debuted at the Majestic Cinema in Mumbai (then Bombay) on 14 March 1931. The first Indian talkie was so popular that "police aid had to be summoned to control the crowds."

The film has long been lost and was not available as far back as 1967 according to the National Film Archive of India, Pune.

The film is a love story between a prince and a gypsy girl, based on a Parsi play written by Joseph David. David later served as a writer at Irani's film company. The story centres on an imaginary, historical royal family in the kingdom of Kumarpur. The main characters are the king and his two warring wives, Dilbahar and Naubahar. Their rivalry escalates when a fakir predicts that Navbahar will bear the king's heir.

Dilbahar, in a fit, attempts to have an affair with the kingdom's chief minister, General Adil (Prithviraj Kapoor). The affair goes sour and a vengeful Dilbahar imprisons him and exiles his daughter, Alam Ara (Zubeida). In exile, Alam Ara is brought up by Gypsies. Upon returning to the palace at Kumarpur, Alam Ara meets and falls in love with the charming young prince (Master Vithal). In the end, Adil is released, Dilbahar is punished and the lovers marry.