Mogul Mowgli / Film School Radio interview with Director Bassam Tariq

Bassam Tariq’s narrative feature debut, MOGUL MOWGLI is a bold, vital and electrifying exploration of heritage and identity. Coming off his historic Academy Award Best Actor nomination for SOUND OF METAL, Riz Ahmed, inhabits the character of Zed or Zaheer, a British Pakistani rapper, who, on the brink of his first international tour decides to fly home to the UK to visit the family he has not seen in two years. In the midst of his attempt to reconnect with his parents, particularly his father, he is suddenly struck down by an autoimmune disease. As his condition worsens and his big breakthrough moment is in danger of vanishing into thin air, Zed descends into a physical and emotional crisis, amplified by vivid hallucinations. MOGUL MOWGLI was recently nominated for Best British Film at the 2021 BAFTA and received six 2020 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) nominations, with Ahmed winning Best Debut Screenwriter. Ahmed won the 41st London Critics’ Circle Film Award for British/Irish Actor of the Year (for body of work) for performances including Zed in MOGUL MOWGLI. Director and writer Bassam Tariq stops by for a conversation on the challenge of navigating the multiple worlds that Zed lives in, collaborating with Riz Ahmed and incorporating the lessons learned from his work in documentary filmmaking into the world of narrative story-telling. For screenings and updates go to: strandreleasing.com/films/mogul-mowgli