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{{Short description|Urdu scholar & Theatre Writer}}


{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
'''S.M. Mehdi''' ({{circa|1921}} – January 2015) was an [[Urdu|Indian Urdu]] playwright, journalist, [[Indian Marxist|Marxist]] thinker, and cultural commentator. Known for his experimental [[Theatre of India|theatre]] and politically engaged writing, Mehdi was a significant figure in [[Indian independence movement|post-independence]] progressive [[Urdu literature]]. His works reflect themes of identity, social justice, and literary history, often blending [[Bertolt Brecht|Brechtian]] technique with classical Indo-Islamic storytelling traditions.
<ref>{{cite web | title=Condolence meet held for playwright S M Mehdi at AMU | date=21 January 2015 | url=https://twocircles.net/2015jan21/1421861124.html }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web | title=India, whose love could have killed him | date=13 February 2011 | url=https://www.dawn.com/news/605949/india-whose-love-could-have-killed-him }}</ref>
<ref>{{cite web | title=Remembering Maamujan - S.M. Mehdi - South Asia Citizens Web | url=http://sacw.net/article10340.html }}</ref>

==Early life==
Born in [[Barabanki]] [[zamindar]] (landlord) family, Mehdi completed his early education in Mustafabad, [[Bhopal]]. Mehdi was a student leader in [[Kanpur]] for BA and [[Lucknow]] for MA and actively involved with the [[Indian Communist Party|Communist party]].<ref name="azmikaifi:1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.azmikaifi.com/sm-mehdi-kaifi-azmi/|title=SM Mehdi on Kaifi Azmi|date=23 July 2016}}</ref> He later studied law and political science in Lucknow, where he became involved in student activism and aligned with leftist and communist ideologies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/hindi/writer/s-m-mehdi|title=Hindi Writer S M Mehdi Biography, News, Photos, Videos|website=nettv4u}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thenews.com.pk/tns/detail/557995-mehdi-the-last-of-his-generation|title=The last of his generation | Art & Culture | thenews.com.pk|website=www.thenews.com.pk}}</ref>

He worked with the Urdu cell of the Communist party in [[Mumbai]] alongside [[Sajjad Zaheer]],<ref name="azmikaifi:1" /> and was for his belief in the "fellowship of man".<ref name="clarionindia:2">{{Cite web|url=https://clarionindia.net/sm-mehdi-a-life-less-ordinary-jawed-naqvi/|title=SM Mehdi: A Life Less Ordinary – Jawed Naqvi|date=7 January 2015}}</ref><ref name="insafbulletin:3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.insafbulletin.net/archives/2787|title=THE LAST OF HIS GENERATION: S.M. MEHDI : INSAF}}</ref>
This is where he got involved in IPTA & met some great minds in writing, poetry.<ref>{{cite web | title=Voices of India's Partition, Part II: Mr. S.M. Mehdi | date=5 December 2011 | url=https://notevenpast.org/voices-indias-partition-part-ii-mr-sm-mehdi/ }}</ref>

Mehdi also worked for two decades as Urdu correspondent for the Soviet Embassy in Delhi from the 1960s until 1990.<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/bitstreams/44d1807c-b3c7-461b-9d62-d06ee4288564/download | title=Voices of India’s Partition, Part II: Mr. S.M. Mehdi | website=repositories.lib.utexas.edu}}</ref>

He was married to Zahra Begum who preceded him in death by a few weeks. Their granddaughter Taran is an active documentary maker.<ref>{{cite web | title=Hinduism Archives | url=https://notevenpast.org/tag/hinduism/ }}</ref>

==Literary and artistic contributions==
Mehdi wrote numerous plays and translated dramas into [[Urdu]].<ref name="azmikaifi:1" /> He was a prolific writer for television, including shows focusing on India's composite culture.<ref name="azmikaifi:1" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19771015-theatre-in-delhi-touches-all-time-low-in-creativity-823893-2014-06-10|title=Theatre in Delhi touches all time low in creativity|date=10 June 2014|website=India Today}}</ref> Mehdi was also a scholar of the Urdu poets [[Ghalib]] and [[Muhammad Iqbal|Iqbal]].<ref name="azmikaifi:1" /><ref name="insafbulletin:3" /> He was later associated with the [[Indian People's Theatre Association]] (IPTA).<ref name="insafbulletin:3" />

His works include Chand Tasviren, Chand Khutut (A Few Pictures, A Few Letters), Maamujaan ki Diary (DD Television show).<ref>{{cite web | title=A night at the opera, courtesy Navrasa Duende | website=[[The Week (Indian magazine)|The Week]] | url=https://www.theweek.in/leisure/society/2018/02/21/a-night-at-the-opera.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Theatre in Delhi touches all time low in creativity | date=10 June 2014 | url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/society-and-the-arts/story/19771015-theatre-in-delhi-touches-all-time-low-in-creativity-823893-2014-06-10 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/down-miller-memory-lane/cid/1273962 | title=Down Miller memory lane | website=www.telegraphindia.com}}</ref>

Mehdi's work drew inspiration from various traditions, including [[Epic theatre|Brechtian theatre]] and the oral narrative styles of [[Tulsidas]] and [[Mir Anees|Mir Babar Ali Anis]].<ref name="insafbulletin:3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3zj2zk63Pk|title=SM Mehdi - on his own life|date=15 January 2015|via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Hindi Writer S M Mehdi Biography, News, Photos, Videos | url=https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/hindi/writer/s-m-mehdi }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Allah and Krishna came together in the songs of this long-forgotten Awadhi singer | date=26 November 2022 | url=https://scroll.in/magazine/1038303/allah-and-krishna-came-together-in-the-songs-of-this-long-forgotten-awadhi-singer }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=SM Mehdi on the Awadhi folk singer Aseemun, and the composite Ganga-Jamuni culture of India - Part 2 | website=[[YouTube]] | date=19 June 2016 | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnjc7CtUcjg }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Allah and Krishna Came Together in the Songs of This Long-Forgotten Awadhi Singer – Janata Weekly | url=https://janataweekly.org/allah-and-krishna-came-together-in-the-songs-of-this-long-forgotten-awadhi-singer/ }}</ref>

Mehdi was a contemporary of the poet [[Kaifi Azmi]],<ref name="clarionindia:2" /> and is mentioned in relation to his grandchildren who shared memories of him and his home.<ref name="insafbulletin:4">{{Cite web|url=http://www.insafbulletin.net/archives/2724|title=TARAN ON HER GRANDFATHER, S.M. MEHDI : INSAF}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Whiff of lost Lucknow 'khushboo' in old letters | work=The Times of India | date=3 February 2019 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/whiff-of-lost-lucknow-khushboo-in-old-letters/articleshow/67813017.cms }}</ref>
Together they published weeklies Mahaz and Tahrik around the Independence Era from Mumbai (then Bombay).

==Later life==
Mehdi died in [[Aligarh]] in January 2015 at the age of 94 in his sleep.<ref name="azmikaifi:1" /> His work, including his plays, translations, and writings, remains largely uncollected.<ref name="insafbulletin:3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.rekhta.org/authors/syed-mohammad-mehdi/all|title=All writings of Syed Mohammad Mehdi|website=Rekhta}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Urdu Books of Syed Mohammad Mehdi | url=https://www.rekhta.org/authors/syed-mohammad-mehdi/ebooks }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Soz khwani: Songs of lament from the battle of Karbala | date=8 June 2017 | url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/art-and-culture/soz-khwani-songs-of-lament-from-the-battle-of-karbala/story-XViusDC93DYPtlo04VaRvN.html }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Shaukat Azmi epitomised the finest qualities of progressive writers and artists | date=26 November 2019 | url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/shaukat-azmi-dead-shabana-kaifi-6136612/ }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Amber Abbas - Independent Researcher | url=https://independent.academia.edu/AmberAbbas11 }}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* [https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9430147/ S.M. Mehdi | Writer]

[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:2015 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Indian Marxist journalists]]
[[Category:Urdu theatre]]
[[Category:People from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian communists]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehdi, S.M.}}

S. M. Mehdi - Revision history

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