Movies - Shama Zaidi

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	Movies - Shama Zaidi

* Born on 25 September 1938 at Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, India (erstwhile state of Rampur).

Daughter of Col Bashir Hussain Zaidi (Administrator/ Businessman/ Politician) and Begum Qudsia Zaidi (Writer/ Social worker / Theatre person). Married to M S Sathyu (Filmmaker/ Designer/ Theatre person/ Art Director).

Schooling at Woodstock School, Mussoorie, Uttar Pradesh, India. Higher Education at Miranda House, New Delhi, India, in B A Hons in English from Delhi University.

Specialization in Stage Design (Diploma), Slade School of Art, London, U K.

Made a career as Writer, Costume Designer, Art Director, Theatre person, Art Critic, Documentary Filmmaker.

Journalism

Art critic for The Statesman, Patriot and Shankar's Weekly, New Delhi.

Written numerous articles on Film, Theatre and Television, for Cinema Vision, Cinema in India, etc, and other journals and newspapers.

Theatre

Got interested in costume design while in school at Woodstock, Mussoorie, which had extensive theatre activities. Also due to the influence of her mother Qudsia Zaidi, who started the Hindustani Theatre in the late 50s with Habib Tanvir and other friends. In her college days at Miranda House she started helping out with the stage productions there, apart from taking active interest in Hindustani Theatre.

After B A Shama went to Slade School of Art, London, for a one year course in stage design and costume design. Then worked in Germany at the Frankfurt Municipal Theatre as an apprentice and for some time as an observer in the Berliner Ensemble. (Apprentice in stage, film and TV design to Herr Hein Heckroth, Frankfurt am Main, West Germany. Herr Heckroth was the designer of Red Shoes Hoffman’s Tales, etc.)

Returned to Delhi in 1961 and designed costumes for Hindustani Theatre before shifting to Bombay in 1965 where she worked as Writer, Designer, Performer and Director for Indian Peoples Theatre Association (IPTA), Mumbai. Since 1980 she has designed more for films and television than theatre.

Worked either as Writer, Director, Costume Designer, Art Director or Artiste for the following stage productions -

Stage Productions

CHOU-EN-LAI , a historical costume pageant for at Lodi Gardens, New Delhi

Hindustani Theatre

SHAKUNTALA (1958) Costume Design; MITTI KI GAADI (1958) Costume Design & Artiste; KHALID KI KHALA (1958) Costume Design & Artiste; MUDRARAKSHAS (1962) Direction & Costume Design; SUFAID KUNDALI (1963) Costume Design & Artiste; MERA NAAM TRUFALDEEN (1964) Adaptation & Costume Design;

Indian People's Theatre Association, Mumbai

BHAGAT SINGH (1969) Co director & Costume Design; AAKHRI SHAMA (1969) Costume Design; AZAR KA KHWAB (1970) Costume Design & Artiste; GUDIYA GHAR (1972) Costume Design & Artiste; BHOOKE BHAJAN NA HOYE GOPALA (1973) Artiste; KHALID KI KHALA (1974) Costume Design & Artiste; SAMBHOG SE SANYAS TAK (1975) Costume Design; DEVYANI KA KEHNA HAI (1975) Direction & Costume Design; MITTI KI GAADI (1975) Costume Design; MAHANIRVAAN (1976) Direction & Costume Design; EK CHADAR MAILI SI (1966) Direction & Costume Design; GHODA (1991) Costume Design; SHRIMAN BALE UIRE (1992) Adaptation; Associated with the IPTA's Inter collegiate Drama Competition since 1972 as a jury member.

Translated / adapted over a dozen plays into Hindustani from various languages.

Cinema

Written scripts/dialogues for documentaries and feature films with Satayjit Ray, Shyam Benegal, M S Sathyu and others. Also done Costume Design and Art Direction.

Feature Films

CHARANDAS CHOR (The Thief Charandas)

Direction Shyam Benegal; Screenplay Shama Zaidi Based on Habib Tanvir's retelling of a famous Rajasthani folk tale. Songs were by Habib Tanvir and most of the dialogues were improvised by the folk artistes.

GARAM HAWA (Hot Winds) 1974 / Colour / 136min / Urdu Direction M S Sathyu; Screenplay Shama Zaidi & Kaifi Azmi; Costume Design Shama Zaidi

Based on a short story by Ismat Chugtai, which she expanded into a film treatment. Filmfare award for best screenplay.

MANTHAN (The Churning) 1976 / Colour / 134min / Hindi

Direction Shyam Benegal; Art direction Shama Zaidi

SHATRANJ KE KHILADI शतरंज के िखलाड़ी(Chess Players) 1977 / Hindi

Direction Satyajit Ray; Costume Design Shama Zaidi Also assisted Ray with research on the background material and translated dialogues with Javed Siddiqi for the Indian characters in Urdu.

KANNESHWARA RAMA (The Legendary Outlaw) 1977 / Colour / 137min / Kannada & Hindi

Direction M S Sathyu; Script Shama Zaidi Based on the exploits of a legendary dacoit of the Malnad region in Karnataka.

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