First, he let his films do the talking. Now Saeed Mirza is going full frontal
The National Award-winning director, screenwriter and author has been astonishingly prescient about the faultlines that would come to define contemporary India. From the frustrations of economic feudalism in Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastan to class and caste rage in Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai to his satirical masterwork on the judicial system, Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho, to Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, that almost three decades ago foretold the polarising nationalism conversation we’d be having today – Saeed’s rage is, today, India’s rage.
And as the accomplished raconteur – master of Urdu poetry, a storyteller as captivating in word as image – publishes his newest book, Memory in the Age of Amnesia, we spoke to him about his art, the imperative of rage, and why he thinks we should all throw more shoes.
