Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screenwriter, filmmaker and novelist of South Asian and English descent. In 2008, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' included Kureishi in its list of the 50 greatest

British writers British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

since 1945.

Early life

Kureishi was born in

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

, South London to a Pakistani father, Rafiushan (Shanoo) Kureishi, and an English mother, Audrey Buss.

Emily Ballou Emily Ballou is an Australian-American poet, novelist and screenwriter. Her poetry collection ''The Darwin Poems'', a verse portrait of Charles Darwin, was published by University of Western Australia Press in 2009.

"Whims of the father"
''The Australia'', 15 November 2008. His father was from a wealthy

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

family, whose members moved to Pakistan after the

Partition of British India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...

in 1947. Rafiushan came to the UK in 1950 to study law but due to financial reasons he worked at the Pakistani embassy instead. Here he met his wife-to-be, Buss. He wanted to be a writer but his ambitions were frustrated. The couple were married, the family settled in Bromley where Kureishi was born. In an interview, Kureishi notes:

My aternalgrandfather, an army doctor, was a colonel in the
Indian army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...
. Big family.
Servants A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
.
Tennis court A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be u ...
.
Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
. Everything. My father went to the
Cathedral School Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...
that
Salman Rushdie Sir Ahmed Salman Rushdie (; born 19 June 1947) is an Indian-born British-American novelist. His work often combines magic realism with historical fiction and primarily deals with connections, disruptions, and migrations between Eastern and Wes ...
went to. Later, in Pakistan, my family were close to the Bhuttos. My uncle
Omar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...
was a newspaper columnist and the manager of the
Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...
...My grandfather, the colonel, was terrifying. A hard-living, hard-drinking gambler. Womanising. Around him it was like ''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, ...
''. They drank and they gossiped. The women would come and go.

Hanif Kureishi attended Bromley Technical High School and studied for A-levels at Bromley College of Technology.Official website
accessed 14 January 2016. While at this college, he was elected as student union president (1972) and some of the characters from his semi-autobiographical work ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' are from this period. He went on to spend a year studying philosophy at

Lancaster University Lancaster University (legally The University of Lancaster) is a public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several pla ...

, then withdrew. Later he attended

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

and earned a degree in philosophy.

Career

Kureishi started his career in the 1970s as a pornography writer, under the pseudonyms Antonia French and Karim. He went on to write plays for the

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

Soho Poly Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, and by the age of 18, was with the

Royal Court A royal court, often called simply a court when the royal context is clear, is an extended royal household in a monarchy, including all those who regularly attend on a monarch, or another central figure. Hence, the word "court" may also be appl ...

. He wrote ''

My Beautiful Laundrette ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was also one of the first films released by Working Title Films. The story is set in London dur ...

'' in 1985, a screenplay about a gay Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980s London for a film directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

. The screenplay, especially the racial discrimination experienced, contained elements from Hanif's experiences as the only Pakistani student in his class at school. It won the New York City Film Critics Best Screenplay Award and an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

. He also wrote the screenplay for ''

Sammy and Rosie Get Laid ''Sammy and Rosie Get Laid'' is a 1987 British film directed by Stephen Frears, with a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. Plot Sammy and Rosie are a married couple, both leading a promiscuous bohemian lifestyle until Sammy's father comes to visit to ...

'' (1987). His book '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (1990) won the

Whitbread Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

for the best first novel and was made into a BBC television series with a soundtrack by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

. 1991 saw the release of the feature film titled '' London Kills Me'', written and directed by Kureishi. His novel ''

Intimacy An intimate relationship is an interpersonal relationship that involves physical or emotional intimacy. Although an intimate relationship is commonly a sexual relationship, it may also be a non-sexual relationship involving family, friends, or ...

'' (1998) revolved around the story of a man leaving his wife and two young sons after feeling physically and emotionally rejected by his wife. This created some controversy as Kureishi recently had left his own partner (the editor and producer Tracey Scoffield) and two young sons; it was assumed to be at least semi-autobiographical. In 2000/2001, the novel was adapted into the film ''

'' by

Patrice Chéreau Patrice Chéreau (; 2 November 1944 – 7 October 2013) was a French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer. In France he is best known for his work for the theatre, internationally for his films '' La Reine Margot'' and ...

, which won two Bears at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festi ...

: a

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The winn ...

for Best Film and a

Silver Bear for Best Actress The Silver Bear for Best Actress (german: Silberner Bär/Beste Darstellerin) was an award presented at the Berlin International Film Festival from 1956 to 2020. It was given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance and was chos ...

(

Kerry Fox Kerry Lauren Fox (born 30 July 1966) is a New Zealand actress. She came to prominence playing author Janet Frame in the movie '' An Angel at My Table'' directed by Jane Campion, which gained her a Best Actress Award from the New Zealand Film and ...

). It was controversial for its explicit sex scenes. The book was translated into Persian by

Niki Karimi Niki Karimi ( fa, نیکی کریمی; born November 10, 1971) is an Iranian actress, director, screenwriter and producer. Regarded as "the most prominent figure among the young generations coming after the Iranian Revolution", she has received v ...

in 2005. Kureishi's drama '' The Mother'' was adapted to a movie by

Roger Michell Roger Michell (5 June 1956 – 22 September 2021) was a South African-born British theatre, television and film director. He was best known for directing films such as ''Notting Hill (film), Notting Hill'' and ''Venus (2006 film), Venus'', as ...

, which won a joint First Prize in the Director’s Fortnight section at

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

. It showed a cross-generational relationship with changed roles: a 70-year-old English lady and grandmother (played by

Anne Reid Anne Reid, MBE (born 28 May 1935) is a British stage, film and television actress, known for her roles as Valerie Barlow in the soap opera '' Coronation Street'' (1961–1971); Jean in the sitcom '' dinnerladies'' (1998–2000); and her role ...

) who seduces her daughter's boyfriend (played by

Daniel Craig Daniel Wroughton Craig (born 2 March 1968) is an English-American actor who gained international fame playing the secret agent James Bond in the film series, beginning with '' Casino Royale'' (2006) and in four further instalments, up to '' ...

), a 30-year-old craftsman. Explicit sex scenes were shown in realistic drawings only, thus avoiding censorship. He wrote the 2006 screenplay ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

'', and for his performance in this movie, Peter O'Toole received Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild, Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations in the best actor category. A novel titled ''Something to Tell You'' was published in 2008. His 1995 novel ''The Black Album'', adapted for the theatre, was performed at the National Theatre in July and August 2009. In May 2011, he was awarded the second Asia House Literature Award on the closing night of the Asia House Literary Festival where he discussed his ''Collected Essays'' (Faber). Kureishi has written non-fiction, including autobiography. As noted by Cathy Galvin in ''The Telegraph'': "But at the core of his life, as described in his memoir ''My Ear at His Heart'' is Kureishi’s relationship with his father, Rafiushan, who died in 1991."

Personal life

Kureishi, who is bisexual, has twin boys (from his relationship with film producer Tracey Scoffield) and a younger son. Kureishi currently lives in West London.

Robert McCrum John Robert McCrum (born 7 July 1953) is an English writer and editor, holding senior editorial positions at Faber and Faber over seventeen years, followed by a long association with ''The Observer''. Early life The son of Michael William McC ...

"Hanif Kureishi interview: 'Every 10 years you become someone else'"
''The Observer'', 19 January 2014. He was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 2008 New Year Honours. In 2013, Kureishi lost his life savings, intended to cover "the ups and downs of being a writer", in a suspected fraud. Although he acknowledges his father's Pakistani roots (originating in

, in British India, present-day Chennai, India), he rarely visits Pakistan. Upon a 2012 visit sponsored by the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

, he acknowledged that it was his first trip to Pakistan in 20 years. Kureishi's family have accused him of exploiting them with thinly disguised references in his work; Kureishi has denied the claims. His sister Yasmin has accused him of selling her family "down the line". She wrote, in a letter to ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', that if her family's history had to become public, she would not stand by and let it be "fabricated for the entertainment of the public or for Hanif's profit". She says that his description of her family's working-class roots are fictitious. Their grandfather was not "cloth cap working class", their mother never worked in a shoe factory, and their father, she says, was not a bitter old man. Yasmin takes issues with her brother for his thinly disguised autobiographical references in his first novel ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' as well as for the image of his own past that he portrays in newspaper interviews. She wrote: "My father was angry when ''The Buddha of Suburbia'' came out as he felt that Hanif had robbed him of his dignity, and he didn't speak to Hanif for about a year." Kureishi and his father did not speak for many months during the controversy. There was further furore with the publication of ''Intimacy'' as the story was assumed to be autobiographical. In 2013, Kureishi was appointed as a professor in the creative writing department at

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

in London, where he was a writer in residence."Q&A with Hanif Kureishi"
''The Times Higher Educational Supplement'', 14 November 2013. However, at ''The Independent'' Bath Literature Festival, 2 March 2014, he stated that creative writing courses were a "waste of time" and commented that 99.9% of his students were talentless. In 2014, the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

announced that it would be acquiring the archive of Kureishi's documents spanning 40 years of his writing life. The body of work will include diaries, notebooks and drafts. Major influences on Kureishi's writing include

P.G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...

and

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

. Kureishi's uncle was the writer, columnist and Pakistani cricket commentator and team manager

Omar Kureishi Omar Kureishi (1928 – 14 March 2005) was a Pakistani writer. He had also worked in the advertising, aviation and journalism industry, writing for '' Dawn'', ''The Pakistan Times'', ''Morning News'' and ''The Guardian'', London. He is best known ...

. The poet

Maki Kureishi Maki Kureishi (1927 Calcutta – Karachi 1995) was a Pakistani poet. She taught at the University of Karachi for 30 years. She wrote in English. Her nephew is Hanif Kureshi Hanif Kureishi (born 5 December 1954) is a British playwright, screen ...

was his aunt.

Awards and honours

* 1980 Thames Television Playwright Award, ''The Mother Country'' * 1981 George Devine Award, ''Outskirts'' * 1986

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay The New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay is an annual film award given by the New York Film Critics Circle. The most successful in this category were Woody Allen, Robert Benton, Ingmar Bergman, Kenneth Lonergan, Paul Mazursky, Qu ...

for ''

'' * 1986

nomination for Best Screenplay for ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' * 1990 Whitbread First Novel Award, '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' * 2007 National Short Story Competition, shortlist for "Weddings and Beheadings" * 2008

(CBE) * 2010 PEN/Pinter Prize * 2013 Outstanding Achievement in the Arts at

The Asian Awards The Asian Awards is an annual award ceremony for the global Asian community which takes place in the United Kingdom, with 14 categories that include business, philanthropy, entertainment, culture and sport. Nominees are selected by an independen ...

Written works

Novels

* 1990 '' The Buddha of Suburbia'', London: Faber and Faber * 1995 ''The Black Album'', London: Faber and Faber * 1998 ''

'', London: Faber and Faber * 2001 '' Gabriel's Gift'', London: Faber and Faber * 2003 '' The Body'', London: Faber and Faber * 2008 ''Something to Tell You'', London: Faber and Faber * 2014 ''The Last Word'', London: Faber and Faber * 2017 ''The Nothing'', London: Faber and Faber * 2019 ''What Happened?'', London: Faber and Faber

Story collections

* 1997 ''Love in a Blue Time'', London: Faber and Faber * 1999 ''Midnight All Day'', London: Faber and Faber * 2019 "She Said, He Said", The New Yorker

Collection of stories and essays

* 2011 ''Collected Essays'', Faber and Faber * 2015 ''Love + Hate: Stories and Essays'', Faber & Faber

Plays and screenplays

* 1980 ''The King and Me'', London: Faber and Faber * 1981 ''Outskirts'', London: Faber and Faber * 1981 ''Borderline'', London: Faber and Faber * 1983 ''Birds of Passage'', London: Faber and Faber * 1988 ''

'', London: Faber and Faber * 1991 ''London Kills Me'', London: Faber and Faber * 1996 ''

and other writings'', London: Faber and Faber * 1997 ''

My Son the Fanatic ''My Son the Fanatic'' is a short story written by Hanif Kureishi first published in ''The New Yorker'' in 1994. It was reprinted in Kureishi's 1997 collection of short stories, ''Love in a Blue Time,'' and also as a supplement to some editi ...

'', 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 * 2004 ''When The Night Begins'', London: Faber and Faber * 2007 ''

'', London: Faber and Faber * 2009 '' The Black Album'' (adapted from the novel), London: Faber and Faber

Nonfiction

* 2002 ''Dreaming an Scheming: Reflections on Writing and Politics'' * 2004 ''My Ear at His Heart'', London: Faber and Faber * 2005 ''The Word and the Bomb '', London: Faber and Faber * 2014 ''A Theft: My Con Man '', London: Faber and Faber

As editor

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

Filmography

Screenplays

* 1985 ''

'' * 1987 ''

'' * 1991 '' London Kills Me'' (and director) * 1993 '' The Buddha of Suburbia'' (television miniseries, based on the novel) * 1997 ''

'' (based on his own short story of the same title) * 1999 ' (aka ''The Escort'', aka ''The Wrong Blonde'') (with

Michel Blanc Michel Blanc (born 16 April 1952) is a French actor, writer and director. He is noted for his roles of losers and hypochondriacs. He is frequently associated with Le Splendid, which he co-founded, along with Thierry Lhermitte, Josiane Balasko, ...

) * 2003 ''The God of Small Tales'' (short) (with Akram Khan) * 2003 '' The Mother'' (adapted from the play) * 2006 ''

'' * 2007 ''Weddings and Beheadings'' (2007) * 2013 ''

Le Week-End ''Le Week-End'' is a 2013 British-French drama film directed by Roger Michell and starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, and Jeff Goldblum. Written by Hanif Kureishi, the film is the fourth collaboration between Michell and Kureishi, who both ...

Story basis only

* 2001 ''

Producer

* 2006 ''Souvenir''

References

External links

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

Audio interview with Hanif Kureishi
from ''

OpenLearn OpenLearn is an educational website. It is the UK's Open University's contribution to the open educational resources (OER) project and the home of free, open learning from The Open University. The original project was part-funded by the Wi ...

'', 12 January 2007
Audio: Hanif Kureishi in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion show
''The Forum''
Hanif Kureishi
at the British Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Kureishi, Hanif 1954 births Living people Alumni of King's College London Alumni of Lancaster University Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature Fellows of King's College London English dramatists and playwrights English people of Pakistani descent English screenwriters English male screenwriters English short story writers Muhajir people People from Bromley Postcolonial literature Writers of Pakistani descent 20th-century English novelists 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 21st-century British novelists 21st-century British dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights English male short story writers English male novelists British writers of Pakistani descent 20th-century British short story writers 21st-century British short story writers Academics of Kingston University