Saeed Akhtar Mirza

Mirza completed his graduation from St. Xavier's College, Mumbai and after a stint in advertising, he joined the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1973. The 1970s was the decade that spelled the beginning of the New Wave, which was a counter-movement to mainstream commercial Bombay cinema at the time. The films of the New Wave were marked by an artistic realism, social critique, and perhaps above all, an experimental form that was distinct from the melodrama and song and dance sequences seen in commercial films. The FTII in the 1970s was a vibrant space and the batches from 1975-1978 are regarded as being the most influential, as the actors and directors who graduated from the Institute during this time decidedly changed the course of Hindi cinema. Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Mithun Chakraborty, Tom Alter, Rakesh Bedi, Satish Shah, were some of the actors who graduated during this time, while the directors included Kundan Shah, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, K Hariharan, Kamal Swaroop, and Mirza.

In 1976, after graduating from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Saeed Akhtar Mirza made documentaries engaging with issues of social welfare and he, along with Mani Kaul, and other fellow graduates, founded Yukt Film Cooperative (also known as Yukt Film Collective). The Cooperative represented a radical experiment in collective filmmaking during India's New Wave era as it rejected hierarchical commercial production for shared creative labor, and adopted Brechtian anti-narrative forms to critique power structures and bourgeois cinema. Their first production was Ghashiram Kotwal (1976), based on one of the most well-known plays in Indian theatre. While the play examined Maratha tyranny, the film drew parallels from the Emergency declared by then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. The film faced bank loan disputes, which caused delays in it being screened after its premiere.

The second production of Yukt Films was Saeed Akhtar Mirza's solo directorial debut, Arvind Desai Ki Ajeeb Dastaan (1978), which foregrounded his Marxist humanist style on urban class alienation. The film is the story of Arvind Desai (Dilip Dhawan), the sole heir to a rich, domineering businessman (Sriram Lagoo), who deals in luxury products. While Arvind questions the values of his own class, he is unable to live by his ideals. Drawing on a Brechtian realism articulated through static framing, extended takes, and an observational detachment, the film critiques liberal guilt, and capitalist alienation. The film won the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Feature Film and launched Mirza's career, while cementing the focus of the New Wave on urban disenfranchisement.

Saeed Akhtar Mirza's next film, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai? (1980) addressed the tension between the individual and their social environment with maturity and nuance. The film is the story of Albert Pinto (Naseeruddin Shah), an auto mechanic who idolises the cars of rich clients which he repairs, while dismissing workers on strike as being lazy. A turning point comes when his mill-worker father is attacked, redirecting Pinto's rage from workers to the mill owners. Pinto represented a different kind of an 'angry young man' and the film challenged the stereotypical representation of minority characters in mainstream cinema. The film was awarded the Filmfare Critics Award.

Mohan Joshi Haazir Ho (1984), Saeed Akhtar Mirza's third film, is a sharp satirical indictment of India's corrupt judicial system and the exploitation of tenants by landlords. A dark comedy, the film marks the screen debut of writer Bhisham Sahni who played the role of a retired commoner, Mohan Joshi, living with his wife (Dina Pathak) and sons in a decrepit building. Joshi pleads with the landlord (Amjad Khan) to have it repaired but instead finds himself embroiled in a legal battle involving opportunistic lawyers. When all else fails and the landlord carries out superficial repairs to appease the court, Joshi makes the ultimate sacrifice. Emphasising the rights of tenants, the film won the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare.

During the 1980s, funding for Indian New Wave (Parallel Cinema) started to decline sharply, precipitating the movement's downturn even as it was at the height of its creative vitality. The restructuring of the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) effectively reduced funding for the films, as the corporation shifted its focus towards industry infrastructure, making commercial viability a key factor for grants. The support of the State waned post the Emergency, and while there was sporadic support from some corners, the robust environment that had fostered and propelled the making of the New Wave films was no longer there. It was in this milieu that filmmakers like Saeed Akhtar Mirza pivoted towards television. In the mid-1980s, he launched an initiative called Iskra (spark) in collaboration with his brother Aziz Mirza, and Kundan Shah. Named after Lenin's political newspaper, Iskra integrated Mirza's Leftist ideals and effectively made the themes of New Wave cinema accessible to mass audiences.

The landmark television series Nukkad (1986-1987) was directed by Saeed Akhtar Mirza, Kundan Shah, and Aziz Mirza under their Iskra production banner. Consisting of 40 episodes, the series was set in a nukkad, a street corner, and chronicles the daily struggles, humor, and resilience of lower middle class laborers through interconnected vignettes. Featuring an ensemble cast of Dilip Dhawan, Rama Vij, Pawan Malhotra, Avtar Gill, and Sangeeta Naik, the series was written by Prabhodh Joshi and Anil Chaudhary. Blending satire, pathos, and social realism, the series tackled issues of unemployment, corruption, patriarchy, and communal harmony without adopting an instructional tone. The series became a huge success, and many of the actors became household names. A sequel, Naya Nukkad, was aired in 1993.

Another TV series made under the Iskra banner, Intezaar (1989-1991), was conceptualised as being a rural sequel to the urban realism seen in Nukkad (1986-1987). Set in a fictional village in north India, the series captures the aspirations of the local villagers amidst stagnation. The series brought back several of the cast members from Nukkad, and featured Shah Rukh Khan in one of his early roles. The series was a success, building on the popularity and nostalgia of Nukkad.

Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro (1989) marked Saeed Akhtar Mirza's return to films after making television series. A poignant film about a petty thief, the film was a reflection on the Muslim minority in Mumbai amidst rising communal tensions. Salim Pasha (Pawan Malhotra), is a charismatic petty gangster who, alongwith his friends, dreams of success in the underworld. Pressured by his family to reform for the sake of his sister Amina's impending marriage to an educated man; Salim is jolted into self-reflection by a documentary on the Bhiwandi riots and the accidental death of his brother, Javed. He abandons crime for honest work in a garage. When offered money to incite communal violence, Salim refuses, only to meet a brutal end, sealing the film's tragic indictment of social and political betrayal. Once again, Mirza foregrounded a realistic portrayal that steers clear of stereotypes, instead offering a stringent critique of marginalisation, illiteracy, and the alienation of Muslims. The film won National Awards for Best Feature Film in Hindi and Best Cinematography for Virendra Sahni. It was also a career-defining role for Pawan Malhotra.

Naseem (1995), set against the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992, is a haunting elegy to secular India. A young girl, Naseem (Mayuri Kango), bonds with her ailing grandfather over tales of pre-Independence Hindu-Muslim harmony but her world unravels in the wake of communal tensions. Noted poet and lyricist Kaifi Azmi played the pivotal role of the grandfather who refused to migrate to Pakistan after the Partition but in the wake of the demolition of the Babri Masjid, his will to live diminishes as he realises that the world he cherished is long gone. The intimate world of the family is contrasted with the political turmoil as the erosion of Nehruvian pluralism is experienced through the lens of a Muslim family. In an interview, Mirza described the film as being his most personal one, “an epitaph for the idea of India” [Saeed Mirza's journey: 'Naseem is my most personal film, an epitaph for the idea of India' by Nandini Ramnath, https://scroll.in/reel/1089163/saeed-mirzas-journey-naseem-is-my-most-personal-film-an-epitaph-for-the-idea-of-india] The film won National Awards for Best Direction and Best Screenplay for Mirza.

Apart from directing features and documentaries, Saeed Akhtar Mirza has also written books. His debut novel, Ammi: Letters to a Democratic Mother (2008), is an open-ended epistolary tribute to his late mother. Part memoir, part Sufi fables, political polemic, and historical vignettes; the novel interweaves his childhood memories while comprehending the erosion of secularism in the country, and coming to terms with his personal grief (his mother passed away in 1990).

Ek Tho Chance (2009) saw Saeed Akhtar Mirza return to feature filmmaking after a 14-year hiatus after Naseem (1995). The ensemble drama featuring intertwined narratives critiqued urban alienation and class divides, and starred Pawan Malhotra, Vijay Raaz, Ali Fazal, Saurabh Shukla. Although the social commentary of the film was appreciated, the film was seen at the time as being formulaic, and failed to make a mark.

The Monk, the Moor & Moses Ben Jalloun (2012), Saeed Akhtar Mirza's second novel, uncovers 'deliberately forgotten' histories of Islamic-Western knowledge. Four contemporary students, a monk, a Moor, Moses Ben Jalloun (12th-century Moroccan polymath), and others, embark on a quest to trace medieval collaborations that have been suppressed or hidden. Moors preserving Greek texts in libraries in Cordoba, Sufi-Buddhist dialogues, and Ben Jalloun's translations bridging Europe and Islam, being some major instances. Blending historical fiction, and travelogue, the book challenges Eurocentric narratives, offering a strident critique of cultural amnesia, Islamophobia, and the gatekeeping of knowledge. The book received critical recognition for its bold revisionism and intellectual heft.

Saeed Akhtar Mirza's third book, Memory in the Age of Amnesia (2018), is a collage of personal essays, stories, and reflections, ofering a personal history of our times. Spurred by the desire to speak and express his thoughts, the book dissects ideas about terror, patriotism, democracy, and power through vignettes, that are often personal.

I Know the Psychology of Rats (2023), Saeed Akhtar Mirza's fourth book, is an intimate, illustrated tribute to his classmate from the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Kundan Shah. Framed through their days in Pune in the 1970s and shared New Wave ethos, the book interweaves memoir, anecdotes, and sketches, tracing their bond. Mirza punctuates Shah's survival instinct amidst industry rats with reflections on censorship, creativity, and bonds of friendship forged amidst the funding crisis faced by New Wave films in the 1980s. Praised by critics as a heartfelt ode to a friend and 'comrade', the book was praised for the nostalgic remembrance of lost ideals.

A cornerstone of the Indian New Wave movement, Saeed Akhtar Mirza's oeuvre is marked by a cinema of moral urgency and social inquiry. Stylistically influenced by the Cinema Verite and the Cinema Novo of Brazil, his films have a strong secular philosophy and make a passionate defence of the rights of minority groups in contemporary society. He transitioned from making documentaries to become a pioneering voice in parallel cinema, later extending his mediums through television, writing, and activism. He is Trustee, ANHAD (Act Now for Harmony and Democracy), a Delhi-based NGO combating communalism through cultural activism and secular initiatives, marking a continuing of his commitment to education and social harmony.