A well-wisher advises Aasman-ud-Dowla, the erstwhile Nawab of Hyderabad, presumably at the cusp of the fall of the Nizam's state, in K. A. Abbas's 1965 film Aasman Mahal (Figure 3.1). To this provocation, Aasman-ud-Dowla says that Hindustan is his mother, it has Taj Mahal, Bibi ka Maqbara, Ajanta Ellora, his ancestors’ graves, and his friends. This scene gives a glimpse into the communal politics of Hyderabad in the decade of the 1940s. The political events of those times are key to understanding the development of the film industry and their implications on Hyderabadi Muslims.

The 1940s were transformational on many fronts for the Indian subcontinent, and Hyderabad and the film industries of the subcontinent were also a part of these changes. In the context of the film industry in Hyderabad, the events we discussed until now slowly start moving into the background as other pressing socio-political conditions take centre stage. The nationalist movement and its politics shape Hyderabad in this period. This shift serves as a precursor to the post-colonial remaking of Hyderabad. The chapter first discusses these matters to place changes in the film industry in context.