K. Asif (14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was a film director, film producer and screenwriter who was famous for his work for the Hindi epic motion picture, Mughal-e-Azam (1960).

Asif was born Asif Karim (' اصف کریم) in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India to Parents Dr. Fazal Karim and Bibi Ghulam Fatima. He was the youngest of his siblings with Sikander Begum, wife of versatile actor, director and producer Nazir Ahmed Khan being the eldest and Masood Karim, the first Muslim president of Sindh Club second in line. Asif Karim went to Bombay to his brother-in-law Nazir Ahmed Khan and later took the name K. Asif. He became a successful director due to his perfectionism in weaving his imagination into an art form and gave birth to Mughal-e-Azam, a legendary film in the Sub-Continental Cinema which needs no introduction. He died at age 48.

His directorial debut, Phool (1945), did very well at the box-office due to the casting of and portrayals by famous actors and actresses of the time such as Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote and Suraiya.

Prithviraj Kapoor (Hindi:पृथ्वीराज कपूर, Pṛithvīrāj Kapūr), 3 November 1906 –29 May 1972) was a pioneer of Indian theatre and of the Hindi film industry, who started his career as an actor, in the silent era of Hindi cinema, associated with IPTA and who founded Prithvi Theatres, a travelling theatre company based in Mumbai, in 1944.

He was also the patriarch of the Kapoor family of Hindi films, five generations of which family, beginning with him, have played active roles in Hindi film industry. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.^{[citation needed]}

Prithviraj was born on November 3, 1906 at Samundri near the town of Lyallpur (currently Faisalabad, Pakistan) in Punjab, then under British colonial rule. His ancestors had earlier lived in Peshawar. Prithviraj could speak English, Hindi, Punjabi, and Hindko.

His father, Dewan Basheswarnath Kapoor, was a sub-inspector of police. Prithviraj received his initial education at Khalsa College Lyallpur and at Lahore. His paternal grandfather, Dewan Keshavmal, was a powerful influence during his childhood. Baseshwarnath was posted at Peshawar, and so Prithviraj received his higher education at the Edwardes College, Peshawar, Pakistan and joined a one year program in Law to become a Lawyer. It was here that his talents on stage first received expression. Prithviraj's son Shammi recollects that Prof. Jai Dayal, a member of the faculty, was instrumental in nurturing his talent. The professor was in love with an English lady by the name of Nora Richard, who in turn was a theatre aficionado with a passion for Shakespeare and Ibsen. The couple found Prithviraj the perfect material for many roles in the plays they mounted. This was his grounding in the art of the theatre.

Dilip Kumar, born Muhammad Yusuf Khan on 11 December 1922, is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King", and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray.

Starting his career with Jwar Bhata in 1944, Kumar's career has spanned five decades and over 60 films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest actors in the history of Hindi cinema. Kumar was the first actor to receive a Filmfare Best Actor Award and holds the record for the most number of Filmfare Awards won for that category with Shahrukh Khan; eight wins. He starred in films of a variety of genres such as the romantic Andaz (1949), the swashbuckling Aan (1952), the dramatic Devdas (1955), the comical Azaad (1955), the historical Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and the social Ganga Jamuna (1961).

In 1976, Kumar took a five-year break from film performances. In 1981, he returned with a character role in the film Kranti and continued his career playing central character roles in films such as Shakti (1982), Karma (1986) and Saudagar (1991). His last film was Qila in 1998. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1991 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1994 for his contributions towards Indian cinema. Dilip Kumar has acted with actress Vyjayanthimala the most, where they both had acted seven films together including the former's home production Gunga Jumna resulting great on-screen chemistry and alleged affair between them.

Sanjeev Kumar (Hindi: संजीव कुमार; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was one of the most prominent Indian actors in Bollywood.

Sanjeev Kumar was born as Haribhai Jariwala in Gujarat to a Gujarati family. His first home was in Surat and family based in Mumbai. A stint in the film school took him to Bollywood, where he eventually became a movie star. He remained a bachelor all his life and died of a massive heart attack in 1985. He has two younger brothers and a sister.

Sanjeev Kumar made his debut in the film Hum Hindustani in 1960. Sanjeev's first film as a hero was the 1965 Nishan. In 1968, he played opposite the famous actor Dilip Kumar in Sangharsh. In 1970, Khilona made him a star. He went on to star in the hits Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) and Manchali (1973). He started working with the well-known director Gulzar in the early 1970s. He did nine films with Gulzar, including Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975), Angoor (1981) and Namkeen (1982). Many of his fans believe that these are some of the best films that he did.

Simi Garewal (born 17 October 1947 ) is an Indian actress. She is known for her work in Do Badan, Saathi, Mera Naam Joker, Siddhartha and Karz.

Simi Garewal was born in Delhi. Her father, J S Garewal served in the army rising to the rank of brigadier. Simi grew up in England and studied at Newland House School with her sister Amrita.

After spending much of her childhood in England, Garewal returned to India while a teenager. It was her felicity with the English language that induced the makers of the English-language film Tarzan Goes to India to offer her a role. A gangly 15-year-old at the time, Garewal made her debut alongside Feroz Khan in this film in 1962. Her performance here was good enough for her to receive many more film offers, and during the 1960s and '70s, she worked in several notable Indian films, working with leading directors such as Raj Kapoor in Mera Naam Joker (1970), Satyajit Ray in Aranyer Din Ratri (Days and Nights in the Forest), Mrinal Sen in Padatik (The Guerilla Fighter) and Raj Khosla in Do Badan. She also starred opposite Shashi Kapoor in Columbia Pictures' Siddhartha, an English-language movie based on the novel by Herman Hesse. Garewal did a semi-nude scene in this film which caused some controversy in India. Later, in the mid-1970s, she made an appearance in the popular film Kabhi Kabhie (1976), made by her brother-in-law Yash Chopra, and had a starring role in Chalte Chalte (1976). Another notable role she played was as a vamp in Karz (1980). She also starred in the BBC docu-drama Maharajas (1987), based on the book by Charles Allen.