Hamid Dabashi calls himself “the first Muslim intellectual.” He is the author of more than twenty books, a consultant on major Hollywood films, a curator and juror of film festivals, and a professor of Iranian Studies and comparative literature at Columbia University.

He talks about how an early love of Indian musicals, his mother’s poetry and travelling storytellers led him towards a life of writing and criticism. And he reflects on his friendship with renowned cultural critic Edward Said.

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