Khwaja Ahmad Abbas

Khawaja Ahmad Abbas
Abbas in 1939
Born7 June 1914 (1914-06-07)[1]
Panipat, Punjab, British India
Died1 June 1987(1987-06-01) (aged 72)
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Other namesK A Abbas
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, novelist, journalist, columnist
Years active1935–1987
Notable work
RelativesAltaf Hussain Hali (grandfather)
Awards
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Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987)[2] was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in Urdu, Hindi and English.

He won four National Film Awards in India. Internationally, his films won the Palme d'Or (Golden Palm Grand Prize) at Cannes Film Festival (out of three Palme d'Or nominations) and the Crystal Globe at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. As a director and screenwriter, he is considered one of the pioneers of Indian parallel or neo-realistic cinema.[3]

As a director, he made Hindustani films. Dharti Ke Lal (1946), about the Bengal famine of 1943, which was one of Indian cinema's first social-realist films,[3] and opened up the overseas market for Indian films in the Soviet Union.[4] Pardesi (1957) was nominated for the Palme d'Or. Shehar Aur Sapna (1963) won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film, while Saat Hindustani (1969) and Do Boond Pani (1972) both won the National Film Awards for Best Feature Film on National Integration.

As a screenwriter, he wrote a number of neo-realistic films, such as Dharti Ke Lal (which he also directed),[3] Neecha Nagar (1946) which won the Palme d'Or at the first Cannes Film Festival, Naya Sansar (1941), Jagte Raho (1956), and Saat Hindustani (which he also directed). He is also known for writing Raj Kapoor's films, including the Palme d'Or-nominated Awaara (1951), as well as Shree 420 (1955), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973) and Henna (1991).[5]

His column 'Last Page' was one of the longest-running newspaper columns in the history of Indian journalism. It began in 1935, in The Bombay Chronicle, and moved to the Blitz after the Chronicle's closure, where it continued until his death in 1987.[6] He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1969.

In total, his works include 74 books, 90 short stories, 3000 journalistic articles and 40 films.[7]

  1. ^ "Ahmad Abbas: The man who gave us Amitabh Bachchan". The Hindu.
  2. ^ "Death anniversary of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas today". Samaa.tv. 1 June 2011. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b c Rajadhyaksha, Ashish (2016). Indian Cinema: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780191034770. Archived from the original on 30 August 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  4. ^ "With love from India to Russia". Russia Beyond. 22 October 2009. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
  5. ^ K. A. Abbas – Films as writer:, Films as director: Archived 27 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine filmreference.com
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference ot was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Krishnankutty, Pia (7 June 2020). "Writer, filmmaker, journalist — Khwaja Ahmad Abbas was master of all trades". The Print. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.