Penguin to publish KA Abbas’s written works in Sone Chandi Ke Buth

Penguin India has announced the publication of Sone Chandi Ke Buth, a collection of writings by filmmaker, writer and journalist Khwaja Ahmed Abbas, popularly known as KA Abbas. The book has been edited and translated from Urdu by Syeda Hameed and Sukhpreet Kahlon. Hameed happens to be Abbas’s niece. 

Sone Chandi Ke Buth basically contains Abbas’s candid observations of famous film personalities like Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar, Satyajit Ray, Meena Kumari, Balraj Sahni and V Shantaram in the form of short stories, essays and articles. 

The book also features Abbas’s writings as a film journalist for The Bombay Chronicle in the late 1930s and early 1940s. His column called The Last Page, one of the longest-running in Indian journalism, started in 1935 and later moved on to the Blitz after the closure of The Bombay Chronicle and continued until his death in 1987. 

A statement from the publishers said, “Not only does this book illuminate the functioning and concerns of the film industry at the time it also offers remarkable insight into the beginnings of film criticism in the country. Abbas’s matter-of-fact style and the didactic element in his prose illustrate the humanistic ideals that were at the very core of his thought. His writing, both humorous and incisive, is like a laser that pierces right to the heart of the matter.” 

Hameed and Kahlon said in a joint statement, “Abbas was a man in a hurry. ‘Mujhe kuchh kehna hai’ [I wish to say something] was his motto in his every creative endeavour. In these stories, he has said it all and we, his emissaries, have brought it to the larger universe. The book has been a journey of discovery for us. With incredible insight into the glittering world of films, Abbas’s writings take us behind the scenes, revealing the lives of the people on the silver screen. It has been a joy to translate these writings and we hope that film lovers enjoy reading the book.” 

Abbas wrote some of Raj Kapoor’s best films such as Awara (1951), Shree 420 (1955), Mera Naam Joker (1970), Bobby (1973) and Henna (1991). The last one happens to be his last work. He was also known for writing films like Naya Sansar (1941), Dharti Ke Lal (1946), Jagte Raho (1956) and Saat Hindustani (1969). Out of these, he directed Dharti Ke Lal and Saat Hindustani. The second one was the debut of the iconic and veteran Amitabh Bachchan. 

Disclosure: Sukhpreet Kahlon works for Cinestaan as head of cinema research