My Name Is Iqbal Masih

Oct 8, 2024 4:23 PM

Author:Bettina Gracias,Sagar Radia,Bhasker Patel,Kaleem Janjua,Manjeet Mann,Inam Mirza,Gagan Sharma,Janice Acquah,Chris Pavlo,Saikat Ahamed

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast drama about a young Pakistani boy forced into bonded labour in a carpet factory at the age of four, and who became a figurehead for the Bonded Liberation Movement aged eleven. Originally broadcast as the 'Afternoon Play' on 25 February 2009, and repeated on 18 January 2011. Despite the valiant efforts of many, there are still thousands of child labourers in factories across Asia - often working long hours in terrible conditions to provide cheap clothing and other goods for our high street stores. This play, the extraordinary and moving story of Iqbal Masih, brings to the foreground one of the less savoury elements of an increasingly global economy, and contributes to the continuing debate about our wider responsibilities as consumers. It also celebrates the tragically short life of a remarkable individual. 'My Name is Iqbal Masih' won the 2009 Clarion Radio Drama Award, and stars Sagar Radia in the title role, with Bhasker Patel as Khan, Kaleem Janjua as the carpet master and Manjeet Mann as Inayat. Also featured amongst the cast are Inam Mirza, Gagan Sharma, Janice Acquah, Chris Pavlo and Saikat Ahamed.

Reviews

Baker and Jameson have... developed into a highly engaging TARDIS team. The guest cast is classy with Michael Jayston as the Tsar and Simon Shepherd as Alex's nice android doctor Boolin. This play is a lot of fun

—— Gypsy King , http://theblogofdelights.blogspot.co.uk

'Every generation believes that language is in decline, but Doing Our Own Thing argues that this time the concern is real... John McWhorter's...analysis is insightful, richly documented, and yes, eloquently written.'

—— Steven Pinker

A propulsive read

—— The Times

Chatty, funny, hugely engaging ... an endearingly honest account of his life so far...

—— Heat

Witty with bursts of Smithy-style sincerity - it is distinctively Corden.

—— Independent

It'll make you lol but is also full of poignancy in classic Smithy Style

—— Company Magazine

Strong accounts of his highs and lows... [the book] lays bare the distorting lens of modern celebrity.

—— London Life

A vivid, sympathetic account... provides a definitive explanation of Welles's ultimate, lingering downfall

—— Financial Times

I am already looking forward to [the third volume] such is Callow's sympathetic absorption in the mass of material, which he handles with a light and ironic touch, that I found myself utterly hooked... As an actor himself Callow writes illuminatingly about Welles's performances

—— Mail on Sunday

Callow's enterprise is one of the rarest in publishing. It leaves the reader dry-mouthed with anticipation for his final, third volume

—— Alan Warner , Guardian

The only biog really worth it's salt this year...reliably entertaining, wise and sane

—— Catherine Shoard , Evening Standard

Welles’s packed schedule is rifled through with chatty elegance

—— Catherine Shoard , Sunday Telegraph

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