 Saeed Mirza is one of the most eminent directors and screen writers in the Indian Film Industry. Mirza started his career in advertising, and then joined the Film and Television Institute of India in Pune. At present he is the Chairman of their Governing Council, a post he will hold for three years. After graduating from the FTII in 1976, he made documentary films and then went on to making feature films, the first being Arvind Desai ki Ajeeb Dastan (1978). He is best known for the wonderful films that he made in the eighties and nineties for what was then termed “parallel cinema”. His films like Albert Pinto ko Gussa kyon Aata Hai, (1980), Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho (1983), Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989) and Naseem (1995), were landmarks when they were released and all of them boasted of an eminent star cast. Actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, Rohini Hattangadi, Smita Patil, Om Puri and many other well known actors, have all featured in Mirza’s films. Nassem won two National film awards in 1996, and he has won various other awards as well, including the Filmfare Critics Award. Mirza’s films have dealt with socially relevant issues, be they political, economic or fundamentalist in nature, and his handling of these films has always managed to touch a chord amongst his viewers.
He has lectured widely on Indian cinema at universities in India and The US, and has also taught off and on at the FTII in Pune. Everyone also remembers him as the maker of the ever green TV serials like Nukkad (1986 )and Intezaar (1988). In 1997, the 50th year of our independence, 5 well known film directors were commissioned by the Ministry of Information, to express their views about their country through short films that would be televised. Saeed Mirza made a series called Tryst with the People of India. For this he travelled the length and breath of India to show the changing face of this country, through its people. He made another series of short films on the Unheard of Voices of India, which dealt with the lives of the down trodden, and the section of society that was “tired of being left out”. He has also done a similar series for UNICEF on Primary Education and the Child in India.
Saeed has also written an autobiographical novel entitled Ammi: Letter to a Democratic Mother (2008). This is a wonderful novel, replete with a lot of interesting anecdotes, tales and Mirza’s views on various issues. Saeed has recently finished his second novel The Monk, The Moor and Moses Ben Jalloun. This book is likely to be released in January 2012. Saeed Mirza is certainly a talented artist who has managed to excel in many fields!
Article By Manju Sampat |
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