Some of the notable and top-grossing films of 1951 were Awara, Baazi, Albela, Deedar, Jadoo, Bahar, Badal, Afsana and Humlog.
Awara a social issue-based film directed by Raj Kapoor for his R. K. Films, had Raj Kapoor and Nargis in the lead roles. The music was composed by Shankar Jaikishan. It was the top-grossing film of the year. It was stated to be "the first Indian film" to become a success in the Middle-east, Russia and China. The film was nominated for the Grand Prize at the 1953 Cannes Film Festival.
Baazi, a Navketan production was directed by Guru Dutt. Based on the 1940s Hollywood "film noirs", it turned out to be a landmark role for Dev Anand, who co-starred with Geeta Bali and Kalpana Kartik. The film went on to become a "major commercial success".
Albela was directed by Bhagwan for his Bhagwan Art Productions and co-starred him with Geeta Bali. The film, with music by C. Ramchandra went on to become a "hit musical".
Deedar directed by Nitin Bose was another hit from actor Dilip Kumar, who was by then known as the "Tragedy King" following films like Jugnu (1947), Mela (1948), Andaz (1949) and Babul (1950). The film had popular music composed by Naushad, and co-starred Ashok Kumar and Nargis.
Jadoo was a psycho-social melodrama film produced and directed by A. R. Kardar. The film was inspired from The Loves of Carmen (1948). It starred Nalini Jaywant and Suresh, with its popular music composed by Naushad.
Bahar, Vyjayantimala's debut film in Hindi directed by M. V. Raman, was a remake of her bilingual film, Vazhkai (1949) in Tamil, and Jeevitham (1950) in Telugu.
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