Zaigham Imam


Zaigham Imam is an Indian film Director, writer, and producer known for his critically acclaimed films Nakkash, Dozakh in Search of Heaven, and Alif, He has written two books 'Main Mohabbat" and "Dozakh" published by Rajkamal Prakashan. He recently bags Best Director award for Nakkash at India International Film Festival of Boston 2019

Career

Imam spent close to a decade as a media professional and worked for popular Hindi newspapers such Amar Ujala and news channels like Aaj Tak. After accomplishing a successful career in journalism and media, Imam started writing dialogues, stories, screenplays and conducted research for many TV fiction-shows in India. Soon he was directing in leading Hindi general entertainment channels. But that was never enough for him. So, he stepped into the world of Bollywood Filmmaking by adapting his own acclaimed novel 'Dozakh: in Search of Heaven' to the screen.
In his debut, 'Dozakh: In Search Of Heaven', Imam successfully took on the multiple roles of writer, director & producer. With the release in March 2015, Imam's work got highly acclaimed by critics and won several awards & nominations in more than a few film festivals throughout the world. Mr Amitabh Bachchan himself complemented him by saying "'Dozakh' is a sensitive film, made by sensitive people."
Imam soon wrote, produced & directed 'ALIF', his second feature film, which was released theatrically on February 3, 2017. The trailer of the same was launched by former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.
The film was narrated by Jaya Bachchan and got acclaimed as 'A Pearl in the sea of Bollywood'.
Alif met the same fate after its release in February 2017. As 'Dozakh' made Imam popular in the critic circle, 'Alif' made his name in critics as well as in the general audience. Soon a prestigious film channel acquired the rights of 'Alif' and it has been screened several times on it. Alif is also a popular choice on a web portal. It has premiered at Australia's Indian International Film Festival.
Imam made his third film Nakkash, as a writer, producer & director in year 2019 which marked the completion of the trilogy of his stories set around the holy city of Varanasi, India.
I & B Ministry especially chose 'Nakkash' to represent the spirit of communal harmony in India and the first look of the film was also unveiled with the generosity of I & B Ministry in the 'India Pavilion' of Cannes, during the 71st Cannes Film Festival 2018. Nakkash was showcased at Cannes Film Festival 2018.
Nakkash was released on 31 May 2019 in India & got critically acclaimed after getting excellent reviews from the critics and audience.
With his unique storytelling style, Imam is all set with more than one thought-provoking projects in his kitty.
Imam's first novel 'Dozakh' is included as reference material of several universities in India. He is also in talks to release the translated version of his novel 'Dozakh' in English and other international languages.