Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, best known as K A Abbas, is a prominent director and screenwriter in the Indian film industry. Known best for his work in Urdu, Hindi and English, he has been a part of some of the most iconic films in the history of Indian cinema. Apart from this, he was also a journalist for the Bombay Chronicle and then the Blitz. Born on 7 June 1914 in Panipat, India, he came from an illustrious literary family. He graduated from the Aligarh Muslim University and studied both English literature and law. He started off as a journalist based in New Delhi. He was also a film critic and an editor for the film section of the Bombay Chronicle. He made his way into the Hindi film industry in 1936, when he worked as a part time publicist for the newly opened production house Bombay Talkies. Here, he sold Naya Sansar (1941), which was his first screenplay in a line of many more to come.

He started work as a script writer with films like Neecha Nagar (1946), Dr Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani (1946), and Dharti Ke Laal (1946), all of which got him noticed by the best film makers of his time. Neecha Nagar (1946) even won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

The 1950s saw him deliver more hits with screenplays for films like Awara (1951), Rahi (1953), Shree 420 (1955), Pardesi (1957) and Satta Bazar (1959). Some of these films ended up becoming the most iconic movies of Indian cinema.

By the 1960s and 1970s, he had established himself as one of the finest writers in the film industry, and once again wrote for films like Hamara Ghar (1964), Sapnon Ka Saudagar (1968), Saat Hindustani (1969), Mera Naam Joker (1970) and Bobby (1973).

He was known for dealing with nationalistic themes and socially conscious issues in his movies. Some of his final works as screenwriter included The Naxalites (1980), Akanksha (1988), Ek Aadmi (1988) and Mr. X (1988).

Abbas was the director for some of the films that he wrote screenplays for. He was also the director of several other renowned films such as Dharti Ke Lal (1946), Aaj Aur Kal (1947), Char Dil Char Rahen (1959), Aasman Mahal (1965), and Do Boond Pani (1971).

He won National Film Awards for Shehar Aur Sapna (1963), Saat Hindustani (1969) and Do Boond Pani (1971). He was also awarded the Padma Shri by the Indian Government in 1969.

He died at the age of 72, on 1 June 1987. The film Henna (1991), for which he wrote the story, was released posthumously.