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'Hanif Kureishi' (born December 5, 1954) is a Pakistani-British playwright, screenwriter, and novelist and short story writer on topics of race, nationalism, immigration, and sexuality.

Contents

Biography

Timeline

Bibliography

Filmography

External links

See also

Biography

Kureishi was born in London, and he graduated from the King's College London with a degree in philosophy. His most famous work is ''My Beautiful Laundrette'', a screenplay about a gay Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980's London for a film directed by Stephen Frears. It won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.
His book ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1990) won the Whitbread Award for the best first novel, and was also made into a BBC television series with a soundtrack by David Bowie.
The book ''Intimacy'' (1998) created some controversy. The story includes a man leaving his wife and two young sons, for he feels physically and emotionally rejected by his wife. The controversy was not the novel itself, but the fact that Kureishi himself had recently left his wife and two young sons. In 2000/2001 the novel was loosely adapted to a movie ''Intimacy'' by Patrice Chéreau, which won two Bears at the Berlin Film Festival: a Golden Bear for Best Film, and a Silver Bear for Best Actress (Kerry Fox). It was controversial for its unreserved sex scenes. The book was translated into Persian by Niki Karimi in 2005.
His drama ''The Mother'' was adapted to a movie by Roger Michell, which won a joint First Prize in the Director’s Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival. It showed a cross-generational relationship with changed roles: a seventy-year-old English lady and grandmother (played by Anne Reid) who seduces the boyfriend (played by Daniel Craig) of her daughter, a thirty-year-old craftswoman. Sex scenes were shown in realistic drawings only, thus avoiding censorship.
His 2006 screenplay ''Venus'' saw Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations for Peter O'Toole in the best actor category.
Kureishi is married and has a pair of twins and a younger son.

Timeline

★ ''1954'' born in London.

★ ''1976'' First play, ''Soaking the Heat'', staged at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs.

★ ''1979'' ''The King and Me'' produced at the Soho Poly.

★ ''1980'' ''The Mother Country'' staged in the Riverside Studios' Plays Umbrella season.

★ ''1981'' Wins the George Devine Award for ''Outskirts'', presented at the Warehouse at the Soho Poly; ''Borderline'' another play of his' opens at the Royal Court Theatre.

★ ''1982'' Becomes Writer-in-Residence at the Royal Court.

★ ''1983'' ''Birds of Passage'' opens at Hampstead Theatre.

★ ''1984'' Adaptation of ''Mother Courage'' staged at the Barbican

★ ''1985'' Film ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' released starring youn Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke. Kureishi’s first screenplay, director Stephen Frears, ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is nominated for BAFTA Best Screenplay Award. Wins New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.

★ ''1988'' Film ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'', written by Kureishi released. The screenplay, together with Kureishi's diary about making the film with director Stephen Frears, has since been published.

★ ''1990'' ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' published. Novel wins the Whitbread Award for the best first novel.

★ ''1991'' Release of film ''London Kills Me'', written and directed by Kureishi.

★ ''1993'' Adapts ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' for broadcast as 4 part BBC TV Miniseries, ''soundtrack'' by David Bowie.

★ ''1993'' Adaptation of ''Mother Courage'' produced as a mobile tour in the UK by the National's education department.

★ ''1995'' Second novel ''The Black Album'' published. The ''Faber Book of Pop'' edited with Jon Savage published.

★ ''1997'' Collection of short stories, ''Love in a Blue Time'', published.

★ ''1997'' Film release of ''My Son the Fanatic (film)'', adapted from his My Son the Fanatic (short story) for film. Third novel ''Intimacy'' is published.

★ ''1999'' Production of his play ''Sleep with Me'' at the Royal National Theatre. Second collection of short stories, ''Midnight All Day'' published in the UK in November.

★ ''2001'' The novel ''Intimacy'' was loosely adapted to a movie ''Intimacy'' by Patrice Chéreau which won the Berlin Film Festival as best film

★ ''2001'' His fourth novel ''Gabriel's Gift'' (Faber and Faber publ.) deals with a father son conflict.

★ ''2001'' A book about ''Hanif Kureishi'' is published in the ''Contemporary World Writers' serial, ed. B. J. Moore, Manchester Univ. Press.

★ ''2003'' His novel ''The Body'' is published by Faber and Faber and highly praised.

★ ''2003'' The drama ''The Mother'' (about a cross-generational relationship) is published, the adapted movie (by Roger Michell) wins a joint first prize in the Director’s Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival.

★ ''2004'' ''My Ear at His Heart'' is an autobiography, dealing with his youth in London, his first attempts of becoming an artist and philosopher, and shows the influences his father had on him as a writer.

★ ''2004'' He writes the play ''When The Night Begins'' for the Hampstead Theatre.

★ ''2006'' He writes the screenplay for ''Venus (film)'', an Academy Award-nominated film directed by Roger Michell and staring Peter O'Toole, Leslie Phillips, Vanessa Redgrave and Jodie Whittaker.

Bibliography

★ 'Novels'

★
★ 1990 ''The Buddha of Suburbia''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1995 ''The Black Album''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1998 ''Intimacy''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2001 ''Gabriel's Gift''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2003 ''The Body''. London: Faber and Faber.

★ 'Story collections'

★
★ 1997 ''Love in a Blue Time'' London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1999 ''Midnight All Day''. London: Faber and Faber.

★ 'Plays and screenplays'

★
★ 1988 ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1991 ''London Kills Me''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1996 ''My Beautiful Laundrette and other writings''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1997 ''My Son The Fanatic''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1999 ''Hanif Kureishi Plays One''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 1999 ''Sleep With Me''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2002 ''Collected Screenplays'' Volume I. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2003 ''The "Mother"''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2007 ''Venus''. London: Faber and Faber.

★ 'Nonfiction'

★
★ 2002 ''Dreaming and Scheming: Reflections on Writing and Politics''

★
★ 2004 ''My Ear at His Heart''. London: Faber and Faber.

★
★ 2005 ''Word And The Bomb ''. London: Faber and Faber.

★ 'As editor'

★
★ 1995 ''The Faber Book of Pop''. London: Faber and Faber.

★ 'Critical works about Kureishi'

★
★ Moore-Gilbert, Bart. ''Hanif Kureishi'' (Contemporary World Writers). Manchester: Manchester Universitiy Press, 2001.

Filmography

★ 'Screenplays'

★
★ 1985 ''My Beautiful Laundrette''

★
★ 1987 ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid''

★
★ 1991 ''London Kills Me'' (and director)

★
★ 1993 ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' (television miniseries, based on the novel)

★
★ 1997 ''My Son the Fanatic'' (based on his own short story of the same title)

★
★ 1999 ''Mauvaise passe'' (aka ''The Escort'', aka ''The Wrong Blonde'') (with Michel Blanc}

★
★ 2003 ''The God of Small Tales'' (short) (with Akram Khan)

★
★ 2003 ''The Mother'' (adapted from the play)

★
★ 2006 ''Venus''

★
★ 2007 ''Weddings and Beheadings'' (2007)

★ 'Story basis only'

★
★ 2001 ''Intimacy''

★ 'Producer'

★
★ 2006 ''Souvenir''

External links

★ Kureishi's website

★

★

★

★ Faber and Faber - UK publisher of Hanif Kureishi

★ Waraich, Omar. ''When Bombs Speak Louder Than Words, Interview with Hanif Kureishi''. ''The Daily Star, Beirut -International Herald Tribune'' Jan 28 2006

★ "In Conversation: Hanif Kureishi with Hirsh Sawhney". ''The Brooklyn Rail'', July/Aug 2006

★ Audio interview with Hanif Kureishi from ''open2.net''

★ About "My Son The Fanatic" Interpretations of and more background information on the short story.

See also

★ List of authors

★ List of English novelists

★ List of novelists

★ List of playwrights

★ List of screenwriters

★ List of short story writers