User:Mushtaqshiekh

Mushtaq Shiekh (Hindi: मुश्ताक शेख (born 29 April 1975) is a well-known author, screenplay writer, film commentator and Shah Rukh Khan’s biographer. He blogs under the Twitter handle @Shiekhspear. Shiekh's resume includes screenplay writing credits for Om Shanti Om , Billu Barber , Ra.One and Rangrezz. He has written film books: The Making of Asoka & The Making of Om Shanti Om. He also wrote the bestselling coffee table official biography of Shah Rukh Khan called Still Reading Khan. Which in its second edition and print run was called Shah Rukh Can.

Personal Life

Mushtaq lives in Bandra, Mumbai, India with his mom, dad, two sisters, two brother-in-laws, his nephew Zidane and niece Ziya. His Life Coach is Bageera – the all black beautiful pet Labrador.

Television

Mushtaq’s successful innings in television began when his close friend Ekta Kapoor, who single-handedly built up the Balaji Telefilms empire goaded him to do something in television at a time when television was not given the kind of respect it is now. What really turned Mushtaq on is that being a workaholic, television allowed him to be so engrossed in work, and it had an interactive immediate response that he wanted to tap on. As he succinctly puts it, television brought his friends, family, fans all together across the length and breadth of the country. People would call him and be concerned when one of the characters in his serial was getting lopped off.

He has scripted several popular soaps including Kahiin to Hoga , Kya Hadsaa Kya Haqeeqat , K. Street Pali Hill , Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii , Kasautii Zindagii Kay , and for Balaji Telefilms. Shiekh's scriptwriting for television serials started with one hour episodes of a short series called Rishtey and Saturday Night Suspense on Zee TV. After that there was no looking back. His stories won him great reviews that further boosted TRP’s of the shows and well, his contribution in reference to scripts in shows at Balaji is something that the entire nation enjoyed.

As a writer Mushtaq Shiekh in no time carved his name through the thick hide of our television industry.

And then it was time to move ahead and conquer greater heights. A a writer he had played field. Now he wanted to be on the other side of the fence…that from the broadcasting side. And with no time he went on to become the Creative Head for a major television channel (Sahara One). With Sahara, a new phase began for him, where he has been able to change the fortunes of many a television products on the channel in record time.

Films

Ra.One: It is India's most technologically advanced super hero film. When the director of the film Anubhav Sinha shared the idea with Shah Rukh, the first thing that he suggested was to bring Mushtaq Shiekh into the team to write the screenplay. Mushtaq Shiekh was instrumental in constantly pushing the limits of the film a fact openly acknowledged by Anubhav and Shah Rukh Khan. The movie released and created records of the box office is history, but the most expensive movie ever made that time opened the indian audience to a super hero film, Ra.One is one movie that got global attention. The film starred Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Rampal and released in 2011.

Om Shanti Om: The screenplay was conceived and written by Mushtaq Shiekh and Farah Khan over a plate of idli sambar in a suburban restaurant. Everything about this movie is extremely filmy, Like the name Om Shanti Om, was derived from the song in 'Karz', and it was a movie made on movies, also had reincarnation and two very different parts pre and post interval. It went on break all records at the box office and was one of the most talked about films. The film starred Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Arjun Rampal and was directed by Farah Khan

Billu Barber: Billu is a comedy of life, which talks about friendship and naturally when Mushtaq Shiekh wrote the screenplay for this film, there was a lot from his own experiences, he has penned down and noted director [[Priyadarshan] stated as a matter of fact that the screenplay of this movie was one of the finest he had ever worked on. The film was directed by Priyadarshan and featured Irfan Khan in the principal role along with Shah Rukh Khan.

Apna Sapna Money Money: In a very different role, Mushtaq Shiekh who was the Vice President of Mukta Arts, backed this mad comedy and put this project for the company. The movie went on to become a huge success.

Books

Still Reading Khan : There's always been a patriarch for every field. He leads, people follow. He takes new paths -- praised if he's successful, derided if he fails. But then somebody has to do the job. Somebody has to invent for the others to reinvent. Somebody has to stand up for our fifty six year old philosophy -- for the people, by the people, to the people. Shah Rukh Khan did just that. He invades areas where no actor has ever been. A clear brand philosophy and a brilliant understanding of mass psyche has been the strength of the SRK product. He is probably the best brand ever churned out by Indian industry. Outrageous and outspoken in his interviews, he played to the masses and boy did he play it right. Then there is the proverbial pinch of salt. With which SRK takes himself. While his work reflects his passion, there has always been that wry black humour that grounds his reality. He has consistently stripped the idealistic glamour from his profession by branding himself a performer. One section of this story deals with the portrait of the artist as an individual, while the other would be an analytical commentary of his body of work and closer look at the Shah Rukh phenomenon through his films. The books argues on several premises including that of visual pleasure and the erotic gaze to explain the strongest points of attraction that a Shah Rukh film holds for the audience. The book would argue that the films under discussion have an underlying theme that binds them the skilled manipulation of visual pleasure and the subversion of the erotic into an acceptable mandate that nevertheless attracts the audience. The book would talk about the emotions and economics of being the Shahrukh Brand. The book would reveal a candid star talking unreservedly on his art and acting. Shahrukh Khan had stepped into the film world as an outsider, a young man bereaved from the loss of his parents, seeking solace, work and passion in an alien world. Today, this outsider is the most familiar member in every household. This book is therefore also the tale of a journey that led from a suburban housing colony in New Delhi into the homes, hearts and minds of innumerable fans all over the world, a journey that transcended boundaries of nations, and the artificial barriers of culture.The book is the story of a survivor, a winner, a never-ending story of success.

Shah Rukh Can : Mushtaq Shiekh’s latest offering, Shah Rukh Can is a revised updated version of Still Reading Khan. There are a thousand things plus one that Shah Rukh Khan has managed to do between after the first edition was published which have been added to this particular edition. The book is a biography, which covers every part of Shah Rukh’s life, personal and professional with lesser known facts about the man that everyone seems to have missed over the years. Besides, what makes this book special is that a lot of the material (words and pictures) is stuff that hasn’t been seen before. If Shah Rukh’s CDs line your music library (not to mention your iPod playlists) and his DVDs line your movie library, then your bookshelf is incomplete without a copy of Shah Rukh Can.

Asoka- The Making : This book is an ode to a passion, an attempt to chronicle history in the making. ASOKA will be the first release in the history of Indian cinema to be accompanied by a book, titled 'The Making Of Asoka'. Directed by the internationally acclaimed cinematographer and film-maker Santosh Sivan, ASOKA is the maiden venture of Arclight & Films, established by Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla.

Mushtaq weaves an entertaining tapestry of exhaustive research on the life of Emperor Asoka, exclusive interviews with the cast and the crew of ASOKA threads, besides the behind the scenes excitement during the filming of the film and the climax with an epilogue by the King Khan himself. As an added bonus, the readers will also be treated with the visual delight of interpretative paintings by the reputed M. F. Hussain.

Elaborating on the purpose of book, Shah Rukh Khan explained, " We wanted to document every nuance of the making of this film which is very close to our hearts. It reflects our passion for the subject, and looking at the way the product has turned out, we are very proud of it!"

Mushtaq Shiekh attributed his drive to Shah Rukh Khan's contagious enthusiasm and said, "Something like this has never been attempted before. We have given it our very best and we hope it will add to the grandeur of the film."

For journalist turned author Mushtaq Shiekh it has been a tough assignment, his toughest till date. The making of Asoka captures all the behind the scene moments that went in the making of the film. In addition to having a historical perspective on Asoka, the book also has interviews with the cast and crew and a complete account of the making of the film.

Devdas- The Indian hamlet : ‘Devdas – The Indian Hamlet’. An attempt to discuss the origins of the character or Devdas through looking at the modern day blockbuster as well as the earlier classical versions, Mushtaq has once more immersed himself in his pet project that will see the light of day by the time of this article going to press. Devdas – The Indian Hamlet is an odyssey of Sarat Chandra’s classic masterpiece Devdas through the spectrum of Indian psyche. It is an introspective look at how the character of Devdas took its roots in the Indian mind and transcended the traditional boundaries between print and cinema. The book is based on exhaustive research and detailed discussions with the actors and technicians and film observers from all over India.

The Making of Om Shanti Om : This is a seventies pot boiler shot in the 21st century, a reincarnation saga, a commercial blockbuster - a Farah Khan's film! "Om Shanti Om" is a treasure trove for film buffs, and Bollywood fanatics. An unreal space where real turned reel (when film crew turned character actors), in a story of junior artistes that turned superstars and a film shoot where nearly the entire film industry just turned up in flesh and blood - this was a movie making experience like no other. All this action and more caught in this eye-popping, colorful, will-catch-you-by-your-throat designed book. "The Making of Om Shanti Om" by Mushtaq Shiekh, where the movie is ready to be born again.

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