Scene 75

Rahi Masoom Raza

Translated from Urdu by Poonam Saxena

The protagonist of Raza’s irreverent and surreal novel, Ali Amjad, travels from Benares to Mumbai in the 1970s in an attempt to become a scriptwriter, only to encounter the absurd and tragic reality behind the film world’s glamorous exterior. Raza’s work, first written in Urdu and recently translated, introduces a cast of memorable, cynical and manipulative characters. These include struggling directors, social climbers and seedy producers.

Harper Perennial, 224 pages, Rs 399