A play writer & a film maker, appreciated globally.
*picture copyrights with Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin
Born: December 5, 1954
Honours: George Divine Drama Award, for Outskirts (play), Whitbread Award, for The Buddha of Suburbia (novel)and BAFTA award (TV serial), National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay & New York Film Critics Circle Awards Award for My Beautiful Laundrette, 1986.
Venus nominated for Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe. My Beautiful Laundrette, Kureishi has been nominated for Oscar(Best Screenplay). The Mother, film based on Kureishi’s drama won Joint First Prize in the Directors Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival. Intimacy by far one of the most critically acclaimed movies of Kureishi, won Golden Bear and a Silver Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival. My Son the Fanatic, nominated for best screenplay at British Independent Film Festival.
Writer in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre
Hanif Kureishi, an accomplished Play and Screen Play writer, is hailed for variety which he brings to his work. He makes short films (i.e. Weddings & Beheadings, 15 – 30 mins), Musicals (i.e. The Attendant), Dance (i.e. the God of Small Tales), Tragedy and Drama (i.e. My Son the Rebel) and many more experimental generes. Kureshi’s work has been nominated for Oscar’s, featured at Canne’s, Berlin and New York Film festivals. He is primarily a screen play writer but has produced(Souvenir), directed(London Kills Me) & acted(The Attendant) as well.
Armed with a degree in philosophy from the King’s College London, Hanif Kureishi’s journey began with Soaking the Heat, his first play performed at the Royal Court Theatre in London in 1976.Then in 1980 The Mother Country, won him Thames TV Playwright Award. Outskirts, brought him George Devine Award. In 1982, he accepted the position of Writer in Residence at the Royal Court Theatre.
He is son of a Pakistani father and a British mother. His father was an employee at Pakistani Embassy, and later on settled in Britain. His part South Asian demography has probably given direction to his work, as it is often reflected in his plays, films & writings.
Most of Kureishi’s work revolves around Pakistani, South Asian & Middle Eastern storylines, characters, immigrants, the issues they face, how the prevailing social trends effect them, and their ability or inability to cope up with them. Be it Pervez in My Son The Rebel or Ahmed in Weddings and Beheadings. For this very reason he has partnered with critically acclaimed actors from India i.e. Om puri & Shashi Kapoor and South Asian Origin i.e. Naveen Andrews(Lost and Heroes). A few other celeberated names who have starred in his films include Daniel Day Lewis(There will be blood and The Gangs of New York), Daniel Criag (current James Bond, Layer Cake), Ann Reid(Wallace & Gromit, Faint Hearted) , Steven Mackintosh (Underworld, Rang De Basanti)
Apart from his cinematic, stage and TV accomplishments. He is a critically acclaimed writer. He has a series of award winning semi-biographies, fiction and non-fiction books to his credit. Some of his written work is described as ‘classical’ which includes his first novel The Buddha of Suburbia. It has been translated to over 20 languages. Something to tell you is his latest novel and has received a lot of critical and public praise .
Hanif Kureishi is currently Writer-in-Residence for Royal Court Theatre and lives in London.
More on Hanif Kureshi:
- Hanif Kureishi official website, http://www.hanifkureishi.com/
- Wikipedia article on Hanif Kureishi
- Hanif Kureishi’s Film pages on IMDB.com
- Weddings and Beheadings (2007) (Writer)
- Souvenir (2006) (Executive Producer, Writer)
- Venus (2006) (Writer)
- Notte senza fine (2004) (Writer)
- The Mother (2003) (Writer)
- The God of Small Tales (2003) (Writer)
- Intimacy (2001) (Writer)
- Mauvaise passe (1999) (Adopted in Italian , Writer)
- My Son the Fanatic (1997) (Writer)
- “The Buddha of Suburbia” (Writer)
- The Attendant (1992) ( Actor, Writer )
- London Kills Me (1991) (Director , Writer)
- Sammy and Rosie Get Laid (1987) (writer)
- My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) (Writer)
- Hanif Kureishi’s written work is published by Faber and Faber, London. Links to the publisher’s pages for his fiction and non-fiction writings:
- Novels
- The Buddha of Suburbia (1990)
- The Black Album. (1995)
- Intimacy (1998)
- Gabriel’s Gift (2001).
- The Body (2003)
- Something to Tell You (2008)
- Story Collection
- Love in a Blue Time (1997)
- Midnight All Day (1999)
- Non-Fiction
- Dreaming and Scheming: Reflections on Writing and Politics (2002) (Amazon Page)
- My Ear at His Heart. ( Autobiography ) (2004)
- Word And The Bomb . (2005)
- Telegraph Article on Hanif Kureishi
- New York Times Article
- Sydney Morning Herald Article
*picture used of Hanif Kureishi, has copyrights with Adam Broomberg & Oliver Chanarin, taken from the an article in The Telegraph, published on 02/03/2008. For source page, please click here
