Born on 13 January 1942, in the princely state of Rampur, Javed Siddiqi comes from a distinguished lineage of freedom fighters—the renowned Ali Brothers. He began his film journey as dialogue writer and special assistant director to Satyajit Ray on Shatranj ke Khiladi, and later served as chief assistant director to James Ivory. Over time, he emerged as one of India’s most respected and prolific screenwriters, with over eighty films to his credit. His landmark works include Umrao Jaan, Baazigar, Darr, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Raja Hindustani, Pardes, Fiza, Zubeida, and Koi Mil Gaya, among others. A storyteller of rare depth and sensitivity, Javed Siddiqi continues to be celebrated as one of India’s most influential voices in cinema, theatre, and Urdu–Hindi literature. Fatima Rizvi is Professor in the Department of English and Modern European languages, University of Lucknow. Her areas of academic interest include Colonial and Postcolonial Studies, Translation Studies, Urdu Studies and Film Studies. Her research papers have been published in journals of national and international repute and in anthologies of criticism. She translates from Urdu and Hindi. Women Unlimited has published two volumes of her translations of fiction and non-fiction by Qurratulain Hyder. She is a Meenakshi Mukherjee Memorial Prize awardee for excellence in academic studies and a Jawad Memorial Prize awardee for excellence in Urdu–English translation.