Annadata is famous story written by renowned Urdu writer Krishan Chander. The story is about the Bengal famine of 1943. The story “Annadata” (translation: The Giver of Grain), was made into the film Dharti Ke Lal, by Chetan Anand in 1946 – which led to Krishan Chander being offered work regularly as a screen-writer by Bollywood.
Dharti Ke Lal (Children of the Earth in English) is a 1946 Hindi film and the first directorial venture of the noted film director khwaja Ahmad Abbas (K. A. Abbas). It was jointly written byK.A. Abbas and Bijon Bhattacharya, based on plays by Bijon Bhattacharyaand the story ‘Annadata’ by Krishan Chander.The film had lyrics by Ali Sardar Jafri and Prem Dhawan. Dharti Ke Lal was critically acclaimed for its scathing view of notorious Bengal Famine of 1943 in which over 1.5 million people died. It is considered an important political film as it gives a realistic portrayal of the changing social and economic climate during the World War II. The film uses the plight of a single family caught in this famine, and tells the story of human devastation, and the loss of humanity during the struggle to survive.
The book Annadata has been translated in English and is available on: http://www.amazon.com/Annadata-Giver-Grain-Masters-Edition/dp/1492333263
urduwallahs 