He discovered his urge of being a writer at the age of 21 when he came across George Orwell’s Animal Farm while helping his brother with an English assignment. His journey as a freelance writer began in 1993 with a local edition of The Hindustan Times while studying B. Sc and wrote first five chapters of his novel Patna Blues in 1997 but left writing after he started career as a banker. According to an interview he revealed how his wife blackmailed him into taking up his passion again and pursue writing. “I used to write long-hand with pen and paper and she would type it out”- he told in an interview to The Hindu.
Novel
After writing and rewriting his novel more than 200 times he finally finished the first draft of it in 2009 but the devastating feedback he got took another 9 years to get Patna Blues published. He finally signed a contract with Juggernaut Books in 2016 and Patna Blues was published in September, 2018. The tale of Arif Khan, a young Bihari Muslim boy who dares to desire a Hindu woman received huge positive review and got translated into nine languages including Urdu, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Bangla, Telugu, Odia and Marathi within a year. His second novel Aslam, Orwell and Porn Star is about a man who was born in the same room as George Orwell in Motihari. The book is already under trouble for its title even before its release. A chapter from Patna Blues has been included in English Language and Foundation Courses B.A/B.Sc/B.Com of University of Kerala.
Other works
Abdullah Khan regularly writes articles, reviews and short stories for Indian and international magazines and newspapers. Some of his writings have been published in The Hindu, Friday Times, Brooklyn Rail and Wasafiri.
Screenplay
Abdullah Khan was always interested in acting and tried his luck in it while in college. His first experience as screenplay writer came with a Channel V project based on adaptation of Indian Classics. His story Rehaan Meets Jamila based on Romeo And Juliet was selected but it was later shelved. He has also written the story and dialogue of the film Viraam directed by his brother Ziaullah Khan.
Personal life
Abdullah Khan is married to Tarannum Perween, a homemaker since 2002. He has always mentioned in his interviews how his wife has helped him finish his first novel.
