'''Ali, Muzaffar (b. 1944)''' [[Image(muzaffar.jpg)]] Hindi-Urdu director born in Lucknow. Eldest son of the Raja Sajid Husain of Kotwara. Science graduate from Aligarh Muslim University (1966). Worked in advertising agencies Clarion-McCann (1966) and Advertising & Sales Promotion (1968), and in publicity division of Air India (1970-81). Amateur painter with exhibitions in Aligarh, Lucknow, Calcutta and Bombay. First film, [[Gaman]], about migrant labour in Bombay. [[Umrao Jaan]] returned to now rarely attempted (except in TV) genre of courtly melodrama set under Muslim rule. Worked with political themes with Subhashini Ali, a Kanpur-based trade unionist and one-time CPI(M) MP. Made and acted lead role of his TV serial Jaan-e- Alam, rehabilitating the Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, King of Avadh. The story was inspired by the Indrasabha, a nautanki ballet of the period (cf. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indrasabha|Indrasabha]], 1932). One of the founders of the MUKT (Marketing Union of Kinematograph Technicians) Co-operative. Last feature, Zooni, remains unfinished. Now a fashion designer. Supports the UP-based Samajwadi (Socialist) Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav; unsuccessfully contested the state legislature elections in October 1993. [[Embed(youtube=3oFm4MYbb9o)]] '''FILMOGRAPHY:''' 1978: Gaman; 1981: Umrao Jaan; 1982: Vasiquedars: Pensioners of Avadh (Doc); Woodcraft of Sahranpur (Doc); Venue India (Doc); Laila Majnu Ki Nai Nautanki (Doc); 1983: Sunehre Sapne (Sh); Wah! Maan Gaye Ustad (Sh); Agaman; 1984: Vadakath: A Thervad In Kerala (Doc); Together Forever (Sh); Wapas Chalo (TV-Sh); Kue Yaar Mein (Doc); 1985: Ganga Teri Shakti Apaar (Doc); India: An Unusual Environment for Meetings (Doc); Sheeshon Ka Masiha (Doc); 1986: Anjuman; Jaan-e-Alam (TV); Aaya Basant Sakhi, Kali Mohini, Semal Ki Darakht (all Sh); 1991: Khizan (Doc) [[Director]]