 Of Afghan Indian origin, Sayyid Hashim Arif Ali-Shah studied and received a degree in Literature at the University of Exeter in England.Ali-Shah is credited as the writer and screenplay writer of the award-winning film "Bye Bye Blackbird" (2005), an early 20th-century period drama directed by Robinson Savary and starring Sir Derek Jacobi.In the film, a man lives out his dreams by learning to fly on the trapeze.