S. M. Mehdi

SM Mehdi was a screenwriter cum playwright who worked in the Indian entertainment industry. He was married to Zahra Begum. Mehdi was born and brought up in Uttar Pradesh. He got his early education in Bhopal and Mustafabad. In 1939, he went to Christ Church College in Kanpur and did his BA. He got immersed in political science and law in Lucknow. The All-India Progressive Writers’ Movement attracted him, and he was one of the active participants.

In 1946, Mehdi joined Naya Zamana, an Urdu weekly, as an editorial staff. While working there, he was trained in literature. Along with Kaifi Azmi Kaifi Azmi is born as Sayyid Akhtar Hussein Rizvi. >> Read More... , he co-edited Mahaz and Tahrik, weeklies. He also co-edited Ilm-o Danish, a journal specializing in theoretical Marxism. In the early 50s, he got interested in the dramas. In 1956, Mehdi settled in Delhi. He wrote a lot of plays during his Delhi days. His play Ghalib Kaun Hai was staged by Sheila Bhatia’s Delhi Art Theatre in 1969. Ghalib ke uren ge purze; Munni Ba’i Hijab, Jan-e Ghazal, Mare Gaye Gulfam, and Iqbal ka Adam, are some of his hit stage plays.

Later, Mehdi relocated to Aligarh. Though his eyesight was weak, he wrote for stage and TV series. Mullah Nasiruddin was one of his works for Doordarshan. Raghubir Yadav Raghubir Yadav is an Indian movie, television and >> Read More... , Zohra Sehgal Zohra Sehgal is a veteran Indian actress and also >> Read More... , Samina Mishra, and Saurabh Shukla Saurabh Shukla was born at Gorakhpur in Uttar Prad >> Read More... were cast in the series, directed by Amal Allana Amal Allana is an Indian theatre director, scenic >> Read More... . In his final years, he also worked for Qaumi Avaz, a newspaper. Mehdi died in his sleep in 2014 at his home in Aligarh. He was 92.