India is celebrating its 79th Independence Day today, on August 15, 2025, to commemorate the freedom from British colonial rule on this day in 1947. On this day, let us tell you about the first film which was released in theatres on August 15, 1947. 

The romantic drama film ‘Shehnai’ was written and directed by PL Santoshi. It has an ensemble cast which includes Rehana, Indumati, Nasir Khan, VH Desai, Dulari, Mumtaz Ali, Kumkum, Kishore Kumar, and others in the key roles. Talking about its production details, the music of the film was composed by C Ramchandra and the cinematography was done by KH Kapadia. Reportedly, this film was the fifth-highest-grossing Indian film of 1947.

About PL Santoshi and his filmography

PL Santoshi was born on August 7, 1916, in Madhya Pradeh’s Jabalpur, and was the father of renowned Bollywood director Rajkumar Santoshi, who is best known for his films like ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, ‘Ghatak: Lethal’, ‘Ghayal’, ‘Damini’, ‘Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani’, and others.

The director, PL Santoshi, who made ‘Shehnai’ in 1947, went on to make several hit films throughout his career. His known films include the 1960 film ‘Barsaat Ki Raat’, which stars Madhubala, Bharat Bhushan, Shyama, KN Singh, Chandrashekhar Vaidya, Mumtaz Begum, and others. 

‘Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke’ featuring Master Romi, Satish Vyas, Daisy Irani, and Murad; and the drama film ‘Holiday in Bombay’ starring Shashi Kapoor, Vijaya Choudhury, Rajendranath Malhotra are some of his well-known works. 

Another film which was released on Independence Day

According to reports, another film which hit the big screens on Independence Day, August 15, 1947, was ‘Mera Geet’. The Hindi-language film features Sushil Kumar and Junior Naseem.