Muzaffar Ali

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Muzaffar Ali
Muzaffar Ali (cropped).jpg
Born (1944-10-21) 21 October 1944 (age 79)
Alma mater Aligarh Muslim University
Title Padma Shri (2005)
Spouses
Children3

Muzaffar Ali (born 21 October 1944) is an Indian filmmaker, fashion designer, poet, artist, cultural revivalist, and social worker. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Biography

Raja Muzaffar was born in Lucknow of the erstwhile United Provinces, British India, in 1944. [5] The eldest son of Raja Syed Sajid Husain Ali, then-ruling prince of the principality of Kotwara in Awadh, Muzaffar attended La Martiniere, Lucknow, [6] and graduated in science from Aligarh Muslim University. [5] He worked in advertising before turning to film making. [5] His early directorial films are Gaman (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981). He also directed and starred in the TV series Jaan-e-Alam. [5]

Personal Life

Muzaffar Ali is currently married to Meera Ali, an architect and fashion designer, with whom he has a daughter Sama, who is also a fashion designer. [7] He later became a fashion designer, creating a fashion label with Meera in 1990. [5] [7]

He was earlier married to the art historian Geeti Sen, with whom he has a son Murad Ali, a film actor. [7] [6] He is estranged from his second wife, communist politician Subhashini Ali, with whom he has a son Shaad Ali, also a film director. [7] [6]

Directorial Filmography

Awards

Related Research Articles

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<i>Umrao Jaan</i> (1981 film) 1981 Indian musical film by Muzaffar Ali

Umrao Jaan is a 1981 Indian period musical drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and starring Rekha as the eponymous character. Based on the 1905 Urdu novel Umrao Jaan Ada, the film tells the story of a Lucknow tawaif and poet, and her rise to fame.

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<i>Umrao Jaan</i> (2006 film) 2006 Indian film by J. P. Dutta

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<i>Gaman</i> 1978 Indian film

Gaman is a Hindi film released in 1978, starring Farooq Sheikh and Smita Patil in the lead roles and introducing Nana Patekar in a supporting role. It is the directorial debut of Muzaffar Ali, who went on to make Umrao Jaan (1981). The film deals with the issue of the futility of urban migration, using the story of a migrant from Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai, who tries to find a foothold in his new life as a taxi driver.

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Akhlaq Mohammad Khan, better known by his takhallusShahryar, was an Indian academician, and a doyen of Urdu poetry in India. As a Hindi film lyricist, he is best known for his lyrics in Gaman (1978) and Umrao Jaan (1981) directed by Muzaffar Ali. He retired as the head of the Urdu Department at the Aligarh Muslim University, and thereafter he remained sought after name in mushairas or poetic gatherings, and also co-edited the literary magazine Sher-o-Hikmat.

The Muslim social is a film genre in Bollywood that portrays Islamic culture in India. It flourished in the 1950s and 1960s and lasted till the early 1980s. Muslim socials are divided into two categories: "classic Muslim socials" that explore nawabi culture and focus on upper class or elite Muslim families, and "new wave Muslim socials" that portray middle class Muslim families who experience economic problems, discrimination and communal violence. Muslim socials often include ghazals, qawwalis, Urdu poetry and expressions, and musical forms commonly associated with Islamic culture. However, lately the label has also been criticized for cultural ghettoization of minority cinema. Director M.S. Sathyu who made Garam Hava (1973), called it "a skewed way to look at cinema. When there is no Hindu social or Christian social, how can there be a Muslim social".

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Anjuman is a 1986 Hindi drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali, starring Shabana Azmi, Farooque Shaikh and Rohini Hattangadi in lead roles. Set in Lucknow, it deals with exploitation of women and problems of local "chikan" embroidery workers.

<i>Jaanisaar</i> 2015 film directed by Muzaffar Ali

Jaanisaar is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language historical drama film, directed by Muzaffar Ali, and written by Javed Siddiqui, Shama Zaidi and Muzaffar Ali. Jaanisaar is a love saga of a revolutionary tawaif of Awadh, India, and a prince brought up in England, set 20 years after the first war of Indian Rebellion of 1857. The film stars Imran Abbas and Pernia Qureshi, the latter making her debut with the film. The film was released on 7 August 2015.

Aagaman is a 1982 Hindi language drama film directed by Muzaffar Ali and produced by Uttar Pradesh Sugarcane Seed and Development Corporation under the banner of Integrated Films. The cast included Saeed Jaffrey, Suresh Oberoi, Dilip Dhawan, Anupam Kher, Bharat Bhushan and Raj Bisaria. The film marked the debut of Anupam Kher. In 2012, The Hollywood Reporter included him in its list of five best actors in Asia. The plot involved the politics and working techniques of Uttar Pradesh sugarcane co-operative societies. Upon release the film received mixed reviews. In November 2012 the film was shown at the 43rd International Film Festival of India.

<i>Umrao Jaan Ada</i> (TV series) Pakistani TV series or programme

Umrao Jaan Ada is a Pakistani television series based on Mirza Hadi Ruswa's novel Umrao Jaan Ada. It is directed by Raana Sheikh and first aired on Geo Entertainment. Aamina Bano played the title role of Umrao Jaan. The supporting cast features actors Bushra Ansari, Faisal Qureshi, Imran Abbas, Humayun Saeed and Mehmood Aslam in prominent roles. Made with a heavy production budget, it is one of the expensive television series made in Pakistan. The series depicts the tawaif of Lucknow during the mid-nineteenth century. It was a pioneer portrayal of extramarital sex after Zia's era. Due to having several mujra performances as well, the series was termed as too bold at that time.

References

  1. "Muzaffar Ali — Opulent Decadence | FCCI journal". Journal of Indian Cinema. 21 October 2020. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  2. "Bollywood has lost the plot: Muzaffar Ali". The Times of India . The Times Group. 17 September 2009. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  3. "Muzaffar Ali deplores MNS stand against North Indians, Bachchan". The Hindu . The Hindu Group. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  4. "Muzaffar Ali in Lucknow". The Times of India . The Times Group. 4 August 2010. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema (Ebook). Routledge. pp. 1929–1930. ISBN   1579581463.
  6. 1 2 3 "Muzaffar Ali: If I could make Rekha look beautiful, I could also make other women look beautiful". The Times of India . The Times Group. 6 August 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Relative value: Heritage, after a fashion". Mumbai Mirror . The Times Group. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  8. "Guftagoo with Muzaffar Ali Rajya Sabha TV". youtube. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.