Ahmad Abbas
Personal Profile
Ahmad Abbas
Birth Name:
Khwaja Ahmad AbbasDate of Birth:
June 7, 1914Zodiac Sign:
GeminiPlace of Birth:
Panipat, Punjab, IndiaPlace of Death:
Mumbai, Maharashtra, IndiaDate of Death:
June 1, 1987Sex:
MaleNationality:
IndianEducation:
Aligarh Muslim University
Family
Ahmad Abbas
Career
Ahmad Abbas
Awards
Ahmad Abbas
1964: National Film Award for Best Film: Shehar Aur Sapna
1946: Wrote screenplay, for Neecha Nagar, which became the only Indian film to win a Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) at the Cannes Film Festival
1942: BFJA Awards: Best Screenplay: Naya Sansar (1941)
1957: Cannes Film Festival: Golden Palm: Pardesi: Nominated
1964: Maharashtra State Award: Fakira
1965: International Film Festival Awards (Santa Barbara, USA)): Hamara Ghar
1966: Jury Member: Berlin International Film Festival
1972: Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: Do Boond Paani
1980: Gold Award for direction: The Naxalites
Trivia
Ahmad Abbas
- His autobiography, I Am not an Island: An Experiment in Autobiography, was published in 1977.
- He went on to write scripts for Jagte Raho, and most of prominent Raj Kapoor films including Awaara, Shri 420, Mera Naam Joker, Bobby and Henna.
- Abbas interviewed several renowned personalities in literary and non-literary fields, including the Russian Prime Minister Khrushchov, American President Roosevelt, Charlie Chaplin, Mao-Tse-Tung and Yuri Gagarin.
- His best known fictional work remains 'Inquilab', based Communal violence, which made him a household name in Indian literature.
- Abbas was considered a leading light of the Urdu short story.
- A prolific writer, and novelist, during his illustrious career spanning five decades, Abbas wrote over 73 books in English, Hindi and Urdu.
- In 1951, he founded his own production company called Naya Sansar, which consistently produced films that were socially relevant including, Anhonee, Munna and the National Film Award winner, Shehar Aur Sapna in 1964.
- He continued to write for The Blitz and Mirror till his last days.
- In 1945, he made his directorial debut with a film based on the Bengal famine of 1943, Dharti Ke Lal (Children of the Earth) for the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA).
- He entered films as a part time publicist for Bombay Talkies in 1936 to whom he sold his first screenplay 'Naya Sansar (1941)'
Biography
Ahmad Abbas
Last Updated: Monday, September 14, 2009Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (June 7, 1914 – June 1, 1987), popularly known as K. A. Abbas, was an Indian film director, novelist, screenwriter, and a journalist in the Urdu, Hindi and English languages. He was the maker of important Hindi films like, Saat Hindustani, Shehar Aur Sapna and the screenwriter for the best of Raj Kapoor films. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas is considered one of pioneers of Indian parallel or neo-realistic cinema, having penned films like Neecha Nagar, Jagte Raho, Dharti Ke Lal, Awara, Saat Hindustani and Naya Sansar. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1969.