I wrote my novel Terhi Lakeer, a big, thick novel. I was sick then, pregnant with my daughter. But I was always writing that novel". The book chronicles the lives of the Muslim community, women in particular, in the backdrop of the waning British Raj. Chughtai's exploration of the "inner realms of women's lives" was well received by critics who variously described her work in Tedhi Lakeer as "probing and pertinent" and "empowering". She herself recalled her creative process in the 1972 interview, saying she found inspiration from the small incidents that she would witness around her and even the personal conversations that took place amongst the women in her family, "I write about people I know or have known. What should a writer write about anyway"? In the years following their marriage, Latif also introduced Chughtai to the Hindi film industry. She began writing scripts in the late 1940s and made her debut as a screenwriter for Latif's drama film Ziddi. Starring Kamini Kaushal, Pran, and Dev Anand in his first major film role, Ziddi became one of the biggest commercial successes of 1948. It was based on the 1941 eponymous short story; Chughtai had rewritten the narrative in form of a screenplay for the production. She then wrote the dialogue and screenplay for the 1950 romance drama film Arzoo, starring Kaushal and Dilip Kumar. Chughtai expanded her career into directing with the 1953 film Fareb, which featured an ensemble cast of Amar, Maya Daas, Kishore Kumar, Lalita Pawar, and Zohra Sehgal. Having again written the screenplay based on one of her short stories, Chughtai co-directed the film with Latif. Upon release, both Arzoo and Fareb garnered positive response from the audience and performed well at the box-office. Chughtai's association with film solidified when she and Latif co-founded the production company Filmina. Her first project as a filmmaker was the 1958 drama film Sone Ki Chidiya, which she wrote and co-produced. Starring Nutan and Talat Mahmood in lead roles, it told the story of a child actor, who was abused and exploited over the course of her career. The film was well received by audiences and the success translated directly into a rise in Chughtai's popularity, as noted by writer and critic Shams Kanwal. Sone Ki Chidiya has been described as a significant production for "[chronicling] a heady time in Indian cinema" and showcasing the "grime behind the glamour"