Khwaja Ahmad Abbas (7 June 1914 – 1 June 1987) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, novelist, and journalist in

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

and English. He won four

National Film Awards The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

in India. Internationally, his films won the (

Golden Palm The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

Grand Prize) at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

(out of three nominations) and the Crystal Globe at

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (, KVIFF) is an annual film festival held in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival is one of the oldest in the world and has become Central and Eastern Europe, Central and Eastern Eur ...

. As a director and screenwriter, he is considered one of the pioneers of Indian parallel or neo-realistic cinema. As a director, he made Hindustani films. (1946), about the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 800,000–3.8 million people died, in the Bengal region (present-day Ban ...

, which was one of

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

's first social-realist films, and opened up the overseas market for Indian films in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. '' Pardesi'' (1957) was nominated for the . ''

Shehar Aur Sapna ''Shehar Aur Sapna'' () is a 1963 Hindi film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, about a young couple searching in vain for a home of their own in a metropolis, amidst the backdrop of rapidly developing city, and the many who flocked to it in hope o ...

'' (1963) won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

, while ''

Saat Hindustani ''Saat Hindustani'' () is a 1969 Indian Hindi-language action film written, directed, and produced by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film portrays the heroic story of seven Indians who attempt to liberate Goa from the Portuguese colonial rule. Th ...

'' (1969) and ''

Do Boond Pani ''Do Boond Pani'' (meaning: Two Drops of Water) is a 1971 Hindi social drama film produced and directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. Made under the "Naya Sansar" banner; the story, screenplay and dialogues were by Abbas, with additional dialogues by I ...

'' (1972) both won the

for

Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one ...

. As a screenwriter, he wrote a number of neo-realistic films, such as (which he also directed), (1946) which won the at the first Cannes Film Festival, ''Naya Sansar'' (1941), ''

Jagte Raho ''Jagte Raho'' () is a 1956 Hindi/ Bengali film, directed by Amit Maitra and Sombhu Mitra, written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and produced by and starring Raj Kapoor. The film centers on the trials of a poor villager (Kapoor) who comes to a city ...

'' (1956), and ''

'' (which he also directed). He is also known for writing Raj Kapoor's films, including the -nominated ''

Awaara ''Awaara'', also written ''Awāra'' and known overseas as ''The Vagabond'', is a 1951 Indian crime drama film, produced and directed by Raj Kapoor, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. It stars Raj Kapoor along with his real-life father Prithv ...

'' (1951), as well as ''

Shree 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...

'' (1955), ''

Mera Naam Joker ''Mera Naam Joker'' () is a 1970 Indian romantic drama film, directed, edited and produced by Raj Kapoor under his banner R. K. Films, and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raj Kapoor as the eponymous character, with his son Rish ...

'' (1970), ''

Bobby Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People *Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (surname), a list of surnames * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwrit ...

'' (1973) and ''

Henna Henna is a reddish dye prepared from the dried and powdered leaves of the henna tree. It has been used since at least the ancient Egyptian period as a hair and body dye, notably in the temporary body art of mehndi (or "henna tattoo") resulti ...

'' (1991).K. A. Abbas – Films as writer:, Films as director:
filmreference.com 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 ''The Bombay Chronicle'' was an English language, English-language newspaper, published from Mumbai (then Bombay), started in 1910 by Sir Pherozeshah Mehta (1845–1915), a prominent lawyer, who later became the president of the Indian National ...

'', and moved to the ''

Blitz Blitz, German for "lightning", may refer to: Military uses *Blitzkrieg, blitz campaign, or blitz, a type of military campaign *The Blitz, the German aerial campaign against Britain in the Second World War *, several ships of the Prussian, Imperia ...

'' after the ''Chronicles closure, where it continued until his death in 1987. He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

in 1969. In total, his works include 74 books, 90 short stories, 3000 journalistic articles and 40 films.

Biography

Family background

Abbas belonged to the Ansari family of

Panipat Panipat () is an industrial , located 95 km north of Delhi and 169 km south of Chandigarh on NH-44 in Panipat district, Haryana, India. It is famous for three major battles fought in 1526, 1556 and 1761. The city is also known as ...

, tracing its roots back to

Abu Ayyub al-Ansari Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (, , died c. 674) — born Khalid ibn Zayd ibn Kulayb ibn Tha'laba () in Yathrib — was from the tribe of Banu Najjar, and a close companion (Arabic: الصحابه, ''sahaba'') and the standard-bearer of the Prophets and mes ...

, a close companion of the Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

, and among the famed personalities that it produced we find: the 12th century

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

saint

Abdullah Ansari Abu Ismaïl Abdullah al-Harawi al-Ansari or Abdullah Ansari of Herat (1006–1089) () also known as ''Pir-i Herat'' () "Sage of Herat", was a Sufi saint, who lived in Herat (modern-day Afghanistan). Ansari was a commentator on the Qur'an, schola ...

Herat Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

; his maternal great-grandfather

Altaf Hussain Hali Altaf Hussain Hali ( – ; 1837 – 31 December 1914), also known as Maulana Khawaja Hali, was an Urdu poet and writer. Early life He was born in Panipat to Khwaja Ezad Baksh and was a descendant of Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, a Companions of the ...

, a student of

Mirza Ghalib Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan (27 December 179715 February 1869), commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet. Widely regarded as one of the greatest poets in the Urdu language, he also produced a significant body of work in Persian. Ghali ...

and himself an Urdu poet of repute; his paternal grandfather Khwaja Ghulam Abbas, one of the chief rebels of the

1857 Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

movement, and the first martyr of

to be blown from the mouth of a cannon; his father Ghulam-us-Sibtain, among the first graduates from

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

, who was a tutor of a prince and a businessman who modernised the preparation of

Unani medicine Unani or Yunani medicine (Urdu: ''tibb yūnānī'') is Perso-Arabic traditional medicine as practiced in Muslim culture in South Asia and modern day Central Asia. Unani medicine is pseudoscientific. The term '' Yūnānī'' means 'Greek', re ...

s; Abbas's mother, Masroora Khatoon, was the daughter of Khwaja Sajjad Husain, an educator keen on female education, having established the first school for girls in Panipat.

Early life and education

Abbas was born in

, undivided Punjab. He attended Hali Muslim High School, which was established by his maternal grandfather, Hali. He was instructed to read the Arabic text of the Quran and matriculated at the age of fifteen. He gained a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in English literature in 1933 and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1935 from

Illness and death

Abbas suffered from a heart attack in the 60s, followed by another more serious heart attack, a paralytic stroke as well a on set accident injuring his legs, but he kept working till his death at the age of 72 on 1 June 1987.

Career

Journalism

After leaving university,K.A Abbas began his career as a journalist at the ''National Call'', a New Delhi-based newspaper. Later while studying law in 1934, started ''Aligarh Opinion''. He joined ''

'' in 1935 as a political correspondent and later, became a film critic for the newspaper. He entered films as a part-time publicist for

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

in 1936, a production house owned by

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940) was an Indian actor and film director. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, he is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of mov ...

and

Devika Rani Devika Rani Chaudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani is regarded as one of the greatest ...

, to whom he sold his first screenplay ''

Naya Sansar Naya Sansar ("New World") is a 1941 Indian Hindustani-language film on radical journalism, directed by reporter turned director, N. R. Acharya (1909–1993), and written by a journalist himself, Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, who started his film career wi ...

'' (1941). While at ''The Bombay Chronicle'' (1935–1947), he started a weekly column called 'Last Page', which he continued when he joined the Blitz magazine. "The Last Page", ('Azad Kalam' in the Urdu edition) became the longest-running political column in India's history (1935–87). A collection of these columns was later published as two books. He continued to write for The Blitz and Mirror until his last days. 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.

Cinema

Meanwhile, he had started writing scripts for other directors, for Chetan Anand and for V. Shantaram. In 1945, he made his directorial debut with a film based on the

, (''Children of the Earth''), for the

Indian People's Theatre Association Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) is the oldest association of theatre-artists in India. IPTA was formed in 1943 during the British rule in India, and promoted themes related to the Indian freedom struggle. Its goal was to bring cultur ...

( IPTA). In 1951, he founded his own production company called Naya Sansar, which consistently produced films that were socially relevant including, ''Anhonee'', ''Munna'', ''Rahi'' (1953), based on a

Mulk Raj Anand Mulk Raj Anand (12 December 1905 – 28 September 2004) was an Indian writer in the English language, recognised for his depiction of the lives of the poorer class in the traditional Indian society. One of the pioneers of Indo-Anglian fiction, ...

story, was on the plight of workers on tea plantations, the

National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...

winner, ''

'' (1964) and ''

'' (1969), which won the

Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration The Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration was one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organization set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry ...

and is also remembered as

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

icon

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. He is often considered one of the greatest, most accomplished and commercially successful actors in the history of Indian cinema.* * * * * With a cinemati ...

's debut film. He wrote the story and screenplay for the controversial themed film in 1974 ''Call Girl'' directed by

Vijay Kapoor Vijay Kapoor (30 October 1939 – 10 April 1990) was an Indian film director who worked in the Hindi film industry during the 1970s and 1980s. He is best known for directing Call Girl (1974 film), Call Girl (1974), a film noted for its controve ...

, starring Vikram and

Zaheera Zaheera is an Indian actress. She debuted in the James Bond movie ''On Her Majesty's Secret Service'' in 1969. She would go on to appear in Bollywood movies over the next decade. She appeared in a lead role for the first time in ''Call Girl'' (1 ...

. He went on to write scripts for ''

'' and prominent

Raj Kapoor Raj Kapoor (; born as Shrishti Nath Kapoor; 14 December 1924 2 June 1988; also known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor) was an Indian actor, film director and producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influen ...

films including ''

Shri 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. T ...

'' and ''

''.

Literature

Abbas wrote 74 books in English, Hindi and Urdu and was considered the leading light of the Urdu short story. His best known fictional work remains 'Inquilab', which made him a household name in Indian literature. Like Inquilab, many of his works were translated into many Indian and foreign languages, like Russian, German, Italian, French and Arabic. His autobiography, ''I Am not an Island: An Experiment in Autobiography'', was published in 1977 and again in 2010.

Censorship case

In 1968, Abbas made a documentary film called ''Char Shaher Ek Kahani'' (A Tale of Four Cities). The film depicted the contrast between the luxurious life of the rich in the four cities of

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

and that of the squalor and poverty of the poor. He approached the

Central Board of Film Certification The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory Motion picture content rating system, film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of ...

to obtain a 'U' (Unrestricted Public Exhibition) certificate. Abbas was, however, informed by the regional office of the

Board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

that the film was not eligible to be granted a 'U' certificate, but was suitable for exhibition only for adults. His appeal to the revising committee of the

led to the decision of the censors being upheld. Khwaja Ahmad Abbas further appealed to the

Central Government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or deleg ...

but the government decided to grant the film a 'U' certificate provided certain scenes were cut. Following this, Abbas approached the

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

by filing a

writ petition In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the record of ...

under Article 19(1) of the

Indian Constitution The Constitution of India is the supreme legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and ...

. He claimed that his

fundamental right Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...

of free speech and expression was denied by the

's refusal to grant the film a 'U' certificate. Abbas also challenged the constitutional validity of pre-censorship on films. However the

upheld the constitutional validity of pre-censorship on films.

Awards and honours

Films

* 1942:

BFJA Awards Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards commonly referred as BFJA Awards, is given by The Bengal Film Journalists' Association. The BFJA is the oldest association of film critics in India, founded in 1937 to serve the developing film journalism ...

: Best Screenplay: ''

'' (1941) * 1946: Wrote screenplay for , which became the only Indian film to win the (Golden Palm) at the

. * 1951: Wrote screenplay for ''

'', which was nominated for the at the Cannes Film Festival. * 1956: Wrote screenplay for ''

'', which won the Crystal Globe Grand Prix at the

in 1957, and the Certificate of Merit at the fourth

. *

1958 Cannes Film Festival The 11th Cannes Film Festival took place from 2 to 18 May 1958. French writer Marcel Achard served as Jury President for the main competition. The '' Palme d'Or'' was awarded to '' The Cranes Are Flying'' by Mikhail Kalatozov. Juries The follo ...

: '' Pardesi'' nominated for (Golden Palm) *

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

: All India Certificate of Merit for the Second Best Children's Film – ''Idd Mubarak'' * 1964:

: ''

'' * 1964: Maharashtra State Award: ''Fakira'' * 1965: International Film Festival Awards at Santa Barbara, USA: ''Hamara Ghar'' * 1966: Jury Member:

16th Berlin International Film Festival The 16th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1966. The Golden Bear was awarded to film ''Cul-de-sac'' directed by Roman Polanski. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for the fest ...

* 1970:

at National Film Awards: ''

'' * 1972:

at National Film Awards: ''

'' * 1980: Gold Award for direction: '' The Naxalites''

Literary

Haryana State Robe of Honour for literary achievements in 1969, the Ghalib Award for his contribution to Urdu prose literature in 1983 Vorosky Literary Award of the Soviet Union in 1984, Urdu Akademi Delhi Special Award 1984, Maharashtra State Urdu Akademi Award in 1985 and the Soviet Award for his contribution to the cause of Indo-Soviet Friendship in 1985.

Filmography

* ''

'' (1941) – Screenplay, Story * (1946) – Screenwriter, director, producer * (1946) – Screenwriter, Story * (1946) – Screenwriter * (1947) – Director * '' Awara'' (1951) – Screenwriter, Dialogue * '' Anhonee'' (1952) – Screenwriter, Dialogue, Story, director, producer * '' Rahi'' 1953 – Director * '' Munna'' (1954) – Screenwriter, director, producer * ''

'' (1955) – Screenwriter, Dialogue, Story * ''

'' (1956) – Screenwriter * '' Pardesi'' (1957)– Screenwriter, director * '' Char Dil Char Rahen'' (1959) – Screenwriter, Dialogue, director * ''Eid Mubarak'' (1960) Documentary / Short – Director * ''Gir Game Sanctuary'' (1961) Documentary – Director * ''Flight to Assam'' (1961) – Director * ''

Gyara Hazar Ladkian ''Gyara Hazar Ladkian'' (Eleven Thousand Girls) is a 1962 Indian Hindi-language romantic social drama film directed by K. A. Abbas. The film was co-produced by the poet Ali Sardar Jafri, who also helped co-write the story with Abbas. Produced u ...

'' (1962) – Director * ''Teen Gharaney'' (1963) – Director * ''

'' (1964) – Director, screenwriter * ''Hamara Ghar'' (1964) – Director * ''Tomorrow Shall Be Better'' (1965) Documentary – Director * '' Aasman Mahal'' (1965) – Director * ''

Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein ''Bambai Raat Ki Bahon Mein'' () is a 1967 suspense crime-thriller Hindi film written, produced and directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film starred Vimal Ahuja, Surekha, David, Irshad Panjatan, A. K. Hangal, Madhukar, Kuljit Pal and debutantes ...

'' (1967) – Writer, director, producer * ''Dharti Ki Pukaar'' (1967) Short Film – Director * ''Chaar Shaher Ek Kahani'' (1968) Documentary – Director * ''

'' (1969) – Director, producer * ''

'' (1970) – Screenwriter, Story * ''

'' (1971) – Director * ''Bharat Darshan'' (1972) Documentary - Director * ''Luv Kush'' (1972) Short film - Director * ''

'' (1973) – Screenwriter, Story * ''Kal Ki Baat'' (1973) Short Film – Director *

Call Girl A call girl or female escort is a prostitute who (unlike a street prostitution, street walker) does not display her profession to the general public, nor does she usually work in an institution like a brothel, although she may be employed by ...

(1973) - Story and Screenplay * '' Achanak'' (1973) – Screenwriter * ''Juhu'' (1973) (TV) – Director * ''

Faslah ''Faslah'' is a 1974 Bollywood drama film directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas. The film stars Raman Khanna. Cast * Raman Khanna as Gautam Swarup Chandra *Shabana Azmi as Asha Premchand * Nadira as Mrs. Sonachand * Paintal *Yunus Parvez as Editor * ...

'' (1974) – Director, producer * ''Papa Miya of Aligarh'' (1975) Documentary – Director * ''Phir Bolo Aaye Sant Kabir'' (1976) Documentary – Director * ''Dr. Iqbal'' (1978) – Documentary – Director * '' The Naxalites'' (1980) – Screenwriter, director * ''Hindustan Hamara'' (1983) Documentary / Short – Director * ''Love in Goa'' (1983) – Screenwriter * ''Nanga Fakir'' (1984) (TV) – Director * '' Ek Aadmi'' (1988) – Director * ''Akanksha'' (1989) (TV) – Dialogue, Screenplay * ''

'' (1991) – Story

Books

He wrote 74 books in English, Urdu and Hindi, including: * ''Outside India: The Adventures of a Roving Reporter'', Hali Pub. House, Delhi, 1939. * ''An Indian looks at America'' (The Rampart library of good reading), 1943. * ''An Indian looks at America'', Thacker, Bombay, 1943. * ''Tomorrow is ours! A novel of the India of Today''; Bombay, Popular Book Depot, 1943. * "Let India fight for freedom", Bombay, ''Sound'' magazine (Publication dept.), 1943. * ''Defeat for death: A story without names'', Padmaja Publications 1944. * "...and One Did Not Come Back!", ''Sound'' magazine, 1944 * ''A report to Gandhiji: A survey of Indian and world events during the 21 months of Gandhiji's incarceration'', 1944 * ''Invitation to Immortality'': a one-act play, Bombay: Padma Pub., 1944. * ''Not all Lies''. Delhi: Rajkamal Pub., 1945. * ''Blood and stones and other stories''. Bombay: Hind Kitabs, 1947 * ''Rice and other stories'', Kutub, 1947 * ''Kashmir fights for freedom'', 1948 * ''I Write as I Feel'', Hind Kitabs, Bombay, 1948 * ''Cages of freedom and other stories'', Bombay, Hind Kitabs Ltd., 1952. * ''China can make it: Eye-witness account of the amazing industrial progress in new China'', 1952. * ''In the Image of Mao Tse-Tung'', Peoples Publishing House, 1953 * ''INQILAB. First Great Novel of the Indian Revolution'',

Jaico Publishing House Jaico Publishing House is a prominent publisher in India. History Jaico was founded in 1946 by Jaman Shah as a book distribution business for U.S. paperback publishers. The company's name commemorates India's independence ("Jai" means victory ...

, 1958 * ''Face To Face with Khrushchov'', Rajpal & Sons, 1960 * ''Till We Reach the Stars. The Story of Yuri Gagarin'', Asia Pub. House, 1961 * ''The Black sun and Other stories'',

, 1963. * ''Raat ki bahon mein'', Hindi, Radhakr̥ishṇa Prakashan, 1965. * ''Indira Gandhi; return of the red rose'', Hind Pocket Books, New Delhi, 1966. * ''Divided heart'', Paradise Publications, 1968 * ''When Night Falls'', 1968. * ''Chabili'', Hindi, Allahabad, Mitra Prakashan, 1968. * ''The most beautiful woman in the world'', Paradise Publications, 1968 * ''Salma aur Samundar'', Urdu/Hindi, New Delhi, Komala Pocket Books, 1969. * ''Mera Naam Joker'', 1970 * ''Maria'', Delhi, Hind Pocket Books, 1971. * ''Teen Pahiye'', Urdu/Hindi, Delhi, Rajpal & Sons, 1971. * ''Bobby'', Urdu/Hindi, 1973 * ''Boy meets Girl'', Sterling Publishers, 1973 * ''That Woman: Her Seven Years in Power''; New Delhi, Indian Book Co., 1973 * ''Jawaharlal Nehru: Portrait of an integrated Indian''; New Delhi, NCERT, 1974. * ''Fasilah'', Urud/Hindi, Hind Pocket Books, Delhi, 1974 * ''Distant dream, New Delhi'', Sterling Pub., 1975. * ''The walls of glass'': A novel, 1977 * ''Barrister-at-law: A play about the early life of Mahatma Gandhi'', New Delhi, Orient Paperbacks, 1977. * ''Men and women: Specially selected long and short stories'', 1977 * ''Mad, mad, mad world of Indian films'', 1977 * ''I Am not an Island: An Experiment in Autobiography'', New Delhi, 1977. * ''Four Friends'', Arnold-Heinemann, New Delhi, 1977. * ''20 March 1977: a day like any other day'', Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1978. * ''Janata in a jam?'', 1978. * ''The Naxalites'', Lok Publications, 1979. * ''Bread, beauty, and revolution: being a chronological selection from the Last pages, 1947 to 1981'', Marwah Publications, New Delhi, 1982. * ''Nili Sari aur Doosri Kahaniyan̲'', Urdu, Maktabah-e-Jamia, New Delhi, 1982. * ''The gun and other stories'', Arnold-Heinemann, New Delhi, 1985. * ''The Thirteenth Victim,'' Amar Prakashan, 1986. * ''The World Is My Village: A Novel With An Index'', Ajanta, 1984. * ''Bombay My Bombay: A Love Story of the City'', Ajanta Publications/Ajanta Books International, 1987. * ''Indira Gandhi: The Last Post''; Bombay, Ramdas G. Bhatkal, 1989 * ''Defeat for death: a story without names''. Baroda: Padmaja Pub., 1994 * ''How Films Are Made'', National Book Trust, 1999, * ''Soney Chandi ke Butt'', Urdu, Alhamra, 2001, * ''For detailed listing'' :

Bibliography

Books on Khwaja Ahmad Abbas

* Ahmad Hasib, ''The Novels of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas'', Seema. 1987 * Hemendra Singh Chandalia, ''Ethos of Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, novelist, film-maker, and journalist: A study in social realism'', Bohra Prakashan (1996) * Raj Narain Raz, ''Khawaja Ahmed Abbas-Ifkar''. Guftar, Kirdar,

Haryana Urdu Akademi Established in 1985 by the state Government of Haryana, India, the mission of the Haryana Urdu Akademi is to promote Urdu language in the state of Haryana. Activities The activities of the Akademi involve organizing seminars, events (e.g. mushai ...

* Vasudev and Lenglet, eds., ''Indian Cinema Super-bazaar'', Vikas, New Delhi, 1978.

Articles on Khwaja Ahmad Abbas

* Dr. R.G. Mathapati
"Abbas: An Island"
* ''Indian Film Culture'' (New Delhi), no. 4, September 1964. * ''Film World'', vol. 1, no. 10, October 1978. * Ghish, S., "K. A. Abbas: A Man in Tune with History", ''Screen'' (Bombay), 19 June 1987.

in ''Jump Cut'' (Berkeley, California), no. 33, February 1988.

''The Dawn'', 13 October 2002. * Shoba S. Rajgopal

* ''Ismat Chughtai'', "Bachu", Urdu * V. P. Sathe, "K.A. Abbas, The Crusader", ''Filmfare'', 16–30 June 1987 V. K. Cherian (31 October 2016). India's Film Society Movement: The Journey and its Impact. SAGE Publications. p 61–. ISBN 978-93-85985-62-1.

References

Cited sources

* * * S. Ghosh, "K. A. Abbas: A Man in Tune with History", ''Screen'' (Bombay), 19 June 1987, p. 14. * ''Dictionary of Films'' (Berkeley: U. of CA Press, 1977), p. 84. * Shyamala A. Narayan, ''The Journal of Commonwealth Literature'', 1 1976; vol. 11: pp. 82 – 94. * Ravi Nandan Sinha, ''Essays on Indian Literature in English''. Jaipur, Book Enclave, 2002, ch. 7.

External links

*
K.A. Abbas at Film Reference
.

Filmography – NY Times
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Khwaja Ahmad 1914 births 1987 deaths People from Panipat Aligarh Muslim University alumni Urdu-language short story writers Hindi-language film directors Urdu-language film directors 20th-century Indian Muslims Indian male screenwriters Indian columnists Indian autobiographers Indian male novelists Indian male journalists Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Hindi film producers 20th-century Indian novelists Screenwriters from Haryana Journalists from Haryana Novelists from Haryana Directors who won the Best Feature Film National Film Award Directors who won the Best Children's Film National Film Award Producers who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award Directors who won the Best Film on National Integration National Film Award 20th-century Indian screenwriters * Indian people of Central Asian descent