S. Hussain Zaidi

Syed Hussain Zaidi (born 28 February 1968) is an Indian author and former investigative journalist. His works include ''Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia'', ''Mafia Queens of Mumbai'', ''Black Friday'', ''My Name is Abu Salem'' and ''Mumbai Avengers''.

S. Hussain Zaidi is a prolific writer. He publishes under the Blue Salt imprint. The Mumbai mafia has been his focus in books such as ''Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia'', ''Mafia Queens of Mumbai'', ''My Name is Abu Salem'' and ''Byculla to Bangkok''.

Zaidi began his career in journalism while working for the newspaper ''The Asian Age'', where he became the resident editor. Zaidi later worked for several other periodicals, including ''The Indian Express'', ''Mid-Day'' and ''Mumbai Mirror''. His in-depth research on the Mumbai mafia has been used by international authors, including Misha Glenny in ''McMafia'' and Vikram Chandra in his book ''Sacred Games''. Zaidi was once kidnapped in Iraq.

Zaidi has covered the Mumbai mafia for several decades. His 2002 book ''Black Friday'' detailed the 1993 Mumbai bombings, an attack consisting of thirteen explosions that killed 250 people. The book was adapted two years later, in 2004, into a film by Anurag Kashyap also titled ''Black Friday''. Subsequent to a petition by a group of accused perpetrators of the bombings, the Bombay High Court stayed the release of the film until a verdict was reached in the case. It was finally released on 9 February 2007 after the Supreme Court of India allowed it following the TADA court verdict in the '93 Bombay blast case.

In ''Dongri to Dubai: Six Decades of the Mumbai Mafia'', a historical account of the Mumbai mafia, Zaidi conducted an interview with crime boss Dawood Ibrahim, who is suspected of having orchestrated the bombings. The book was adapted into the film ''Shootout at Wadala'' by Sanjay Gupta.

Zaidi was an associate producer of the HBO documentary ''Terror in Mumbai'', which is based on the 26/11 attacks.

Zaidi interviewed former Indian spy Lucky Bisht in June 2022. Bisht was accused of murder of civilians, for which he was jailed, but was later acquitted due to insufficient evidence.

Zaidi's book R.A.W. Hitman: The Real Story of Agent Lima about the assassination of Raju Pargai and Amit Arya, is partially based on his interview with Bisht. Provided by Wikipedia