Naseeruddin Shah

Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian film and stage actor and director in the Hindi language film industry. He is notable in Indian parallel cinema.[1] He has won numerous awards in his career, including three National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards and an award at the Venice Film Festival. The Government of India has honoured him with the Padma Shri and the Padma Bhushan awards for his contributions to Indian cinema.[2]

For the ruler of Persia, see Naser al-Din Shah Qajar.

Naseeruddin Shah
Shah in 2013
Born (1950-07-20) 20 July 1950
Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India
NationalityIndian
CitizenshipIndian
Alma materFilm and Television Institute of India
National School of Drama
Occupation
  • Actor
  • Director
  • Environmentalist
Years active1972–present
Spouse(s)Parveen Murad, also known as Manara Sikri (deceased)
(
m. 1982)
ChildrenHeeba, Imaad, Vivaan
RelativesZameerud-din Shah (brother)
Dina Pathak (mother-in-law)
Supriya Pathak (sister-in-law)
Mohommed Ali Shah (nephew)
AwardsNational Film Award
Filmfare Awards
HonoursPadma Bhushan
Padma Shri
Signature

Early life

Naseeruddin Shah was born in Barabanki town of Uttar Pradesh, into a Muslim family that originally came from Meerut.[3]

Shah did his schooling at St. Anselm's Ajmer and St Joseph's College, Nainital. He graduated in arts from Aligarh Muslim University in 1971 and attended National School of Drama in Delhi.

His elder brother, Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah[4] (Retd.) PVSM, SM, VSM, was Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University.[5][6]

Career

Shah has acted in movies such as Nishant, Aakrosh, Sparsh, Mirch Masala, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai, Trikal, Bhavni Bhavai, Junoon, Mandi, Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!, Ardh Satya, Katha, and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro.[7]He made his debut with a small role in film Aman (1967) starring Rajendra kumar and Saira Banu.

Shah became active in mainstream Bollywood cinema with the 1980 film Hum Paanch. In 1982, he acted in the film Dil Aakhir Dil Hai directed by Ismail Shroff, opposite Rakhee. One of his most important films, Masoom, was released in 1983[8] and was shot at St Joseph's College, Nainital. His next major success in mainstream films was the 1986 multi-star film Karma where he acted alongside veteran Dilip Kumar. Starring roles for films such as Ijaazat (1987), Jalwa (1988) and Hero Hiralal (1989) followed. In 1988 he played opposite his wife Ratna Pathak as Inspector Ghote, the fictional detective of H. R. F. Keating's novels in the Merchant Ivory English language film The Perfect Murder. He acted with Aditya Pancholi in films like Maalamaal (1988) and Game (1993).

He has acted in several multi-star Bollywood films as well, such as Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989) and Vishwatma (1992). In 1994, he acted as the villain in Mohra, his 100th film as an actor. He forayed into Malayalam cinema the same year, through T. V. Chandran's drama Ponthan Mada. The film portrayed the irrational bonding of a feudal serf (played by Mammootty) and a colonial landlord (played by Shah). He strongly believed that the distinction between art and commercial films had largely reduced, especially with the directors of the former also making commercial films. In 2000, Shah played Mahatma Gandhi in Kamal Hassan's Hey Ram[9] which focused on the assassination of Gandhi from the assailant's point of view.

Shah played Mohit, the drunken coach to a deaf and mute boy in Iqbal, which was written by Vipul K Rawal with Shah in mind. Shah was noted for his roles in the 1999 Aamir Khan-starrer Sarfarosh, where he played Gulfam Hassan – a ghazal singer-cum-terrorist mastermind — and in Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday (2008).

Shah has also starred in international projects, such as Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and a Hollywood adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003 (co-starring Sean Connery), where he played Captain Nemo. His portrayal of Nemo was very close to the design of the graphic novel, although his Nemo was far less manic. He worked in Vishal Bhardwaj's Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, titled Maqbool, in 2003, and Rajiv Rai's Asambhav opposite Arjun Rampal and Priyanka Chopra in 2004. He then went on to work in The Great New Wonderful (2005). In 2011, Shah was seen in The Dirty Picture. He acted in Anup Kurian's The Blueberry Hunt, playing a recluse growing marijuana in his forest retreat, and in Waiting, starring opposite Kalki Koechlin, both of which were released in 2016.

Shah made his Pakistani film debut in Khuda Ke Liye by Shoaib Mansoor, where he played a short cameo. His second Pakistani film Zinda Bhaag was selected as the country's official entry to the 86th Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film award.

As a director

Naseeruddin Shah has been giving performances with his theatre troupe at places such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Lahore. He has directed plays written by Lavender Kumar, Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.

His directorial debut in movies, Yun Hota To Kya Hota, was released in 2006. It stars several established actors such as Konkona Sen Sharma, Paresh Rawal, Irrfan Khan, then-newcomer Ayesha Takia, his son Imaad Shah and his old friend Ravi Baswani.[10]

Other media and art forms
Naseeruddin Shah playing Pozzo in Motley's production of Waiting for Godot at The Doon School, 2009.

In 1977, Shah, Tom Alter and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play was Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, which was staged at the Prithvi Theatre on 29 July 1979.[11]

In 1988, he acted in the eponymous television series based on the life and times of Mirza Ghalib, directed by Gulzar and telecast on DD National.[12]

In 1989, he acted as the Maratha King Shivaji in another eponymous television series Bharat Ek Khoj based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book The Discovery of India.[13]

In mid 1990s, Shah also hosted some episodes of science magazine programme Turning Point.[14]

In 1999, he acted as a special agent in the TV series Tarkash on Zee TV. He played a retired agent haunted by nightmares who is re-inducted as he apparently knows something about a dreaded terrorist somehow connected with his past. He played the villain with the dual identity of a ghazal singer and a Pakistani spy who supports terrorism in India in Sarfarosh (1999).[15]He was the first of several celebrity actors, who played narrator in the popular audiobook series for kids Karadi Tales.[16] He was the narrator in the film Paheli — the Indian entry to the 2006 Academy Awards.[17]

In 2017, Shah returned to film, starring in Shakespearean adaption The Hungry, screened under special presentations at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.[18]

Personal life
Shah with wife Ratna Pathak at Gangs of Wasseypur screening in 2012

In the 1970s, Shah met and fell in love with Ratna Pathak, the daughter of Dina Pathak, a well-respected character actress. Ratna's sister, the actress Supriya Pathak, is married to the actor Pankaj Kapoor, who is the father of Shahid Kapoor by his first marriage. During the 70s and 80s, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak co-starred in several films including Mirch Masala and The Perfect Murder.[19][20] They were in a live-in relationship for many years, while Shah put together the mehr required to divorce Manara. Shah and Pathak were finally married in 1982.[21] By his second marriage, Shah has two sons, Imaad and Vivaan, both of whom are aspiring actors. The couple lives in Mumbai with Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan.[22]

Autobiography

Shah's memoir is titled And Then One Day, and was published by Hamish Hamilton.[23]

Controversies

Naseeruddin has been frequently involved in controversy with his criticism of senior actors like Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, fellow actors like Anupam Kher, juniors like Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, cricketer Virat Kohli and politician and Prime minister Narendra Modi. Shah once said that people watching movies of Shahrukh and Salman should not watch his movies.[24] In July 2016 Shah blamed late Rajesh Khanna for mediocrity in movies with his poor acting during the 1970s. He also stated that the veteran actor was not an alert person whom he had met. However, later after criticism from several people in the Bollywood fraternity including Rajesh Khanna's daughter Twinkle, Naseeruddin apologized about his views.[25] On December 18, 2018, he sparked a controversy by calling Virat Kohli as the worst behaved cricketer in the world.[26] Shah was at the centre of a communal controversy after he reacted to an incident of communal violence in December 2018. He stated that he felt unsafe in current day India and was worried about the safety of his children if they were caught in a mob violence situation.[27] In January 2020, Shah got into a political controversy by criticising his co-actor colleague Anupam Kher for his views supporting the Indian government’s Citizenship Amendment Act, calling him a clown and sycophant.

Awards
Year AwardFilmStatus
Civilian Awards
1987 Padma ShriIndia's fourth highest civilian awardAwarded
2003 Padma BhushanIndia's third highest civilian awardAwarded
National Film Award
1979 National Film Award for Best ActorSparshWon
1984 National Film Award for Best ActorPaarWon
2006 National Film Award for Best Supporting ActorIqbalWon
Filmfare Award
1980 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardJunoonNominated
1981 Filmfare Best Actor AwardAakroshWon
1982 Filmfare Best Actor AwardChakraWon
1983 Filmfare Best Actor AwardBazaarNominated
1984 Filmfare Best Actor AwardMasoomWon
1984 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardKathaNominated
1984 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardMandiNominated
1985 Filmfare Best Actor AwardSparshNominated
1994 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardSirNominated
1995 Filmfare Best Villain AwardMohraNominated
1996 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardNaajayazNominated
1997 Filmfare Best Villain AwardChaahatNominated
1999 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardChina GateNominated
2000 Filmfare Best Villain AwardSarfaroshNominated
2006 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardIqbalNominated
2007 Filmfare Best Villain AwardKrrishNominated
2008 Filmfare Best Actor AwardA Wednesday!Nominated
2012 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardThe Dirty PictureNominated
Venice Film Festival
1984 The Volpi Cup (Award for Best Actor)PaarWon

Other awards

Filmography
Main article: Naseeruddin Shah filmography
gollark: Well, I've never tried rat poison as a comparison.
gollark: THAT's it.
gollark: In some places they have "vegemite" instead, which is wrong.
gollark: It's an, er, spread of some sort? You can have it on bread and pasta and stuff.
gollark: There's a "Waitrose" somewhat nearby ish, which is good because they have marmite rice cakes, an excellent food product.

See also
  • List of Bollywood villains

References
  1. "Naseeruddin Shah says essential for Muslims to stop feeling persecuted, assert claim on India". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017. Retrieved 2 June 2017.
  2. "Padma Awards" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  3. Italo Spinelli (2002). Indian Summer: Films, Filmmakers and Stars Between Ray and Bollywood. Edizioni Oliveras. p. 144. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. "Former GOC 3 corps in VP race". Nagaland Page. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017.
  5. "People's Vice Presidential Candidate". State Herald. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. "High speculation former GOC 3 Corps VP". Morung Express. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  7. "Naseeruddin Shah". Archived from the original on 20 January 2009. Retrieved 22 September 2009.
  8. DelhiAugust 2, India Today Web Desk New; August 2, 2019UPDATED:; Ist, 2019 13:10. "Shekhar Kapur says people wanted him to change Masoom script. Just another copy, retorts Internet". India Today. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 13 May 2020.CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. Vetticad, Anna M. M. "Naseeruddin Shah gets to play Mahatma Gandhi twice". India Today. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  10. "Yun Hota.. the Rediff review". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2017.
  11. "Still waiting, for Mr Godot". The Indian Express. 21 August 1997. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008.
  12. Ansari, Shahab (4 December 2013). "Naseeruddin Shah says he visited parts of Lahore in disguise". The News International. Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2013.
  13. Roychoudhary, Amborish (7 March 2013). "Being Naseer". Filmware. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  14. "Turning Point makes a comeback with new host and producer". India Today. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  15. "Not returning awards as they mean nothing to me: Naseeruddin Shah". The Indian Express. 6 November 2015. Archived from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  16. "Karadi tales". The Hindu. 5 June 2000. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  17. "Pahele is a revelation". Rediff. 27 June 2005. Archived from the original on 3 September 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  18. "The Hungry Trailer: Naseeruddin Shah". HindustanTimes. 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  19. "Did you know why Heeba Shah agreed to play the role of the young Daadisa?". Tellychakkar.com. 17 August 2009. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
  20. "Naseeruddin Shah's son falls off train". The Times of India. 24 November 2006. Archived from the original on 12 December 2013. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
  21. "Does Naseeruddin Shah's first marriage and divorce scare his second wife Ratna?". Stardust. 29 July 2013. Archived from the original on 15 September 2014. Retrieved 14 September 2014.
  22. "Lipstick Under My Burkha actor Ratna Pathak Shah shares a moment in time from when she dated Naseeruddin Shah". The Indian Express. 30 July 2017. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2018.
  23. Shah, Naseeruddin (2014). And then one day: A memoir. Hamish Hamilton. p. 1. ISBN 978-0670087648.
  24. "7 times Naseeruddin Shah criticised Indian greats". in.news.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  25. "Naseeruddin Shah apologizes after calling Rajesh Khanna a poor actor". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  26. "Naseeruddin Shah dubs Virat Kohli world's worst behaved player, sparks row - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  27. "Naseeruddin Shah says he fears for his children in India of today". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 September 2019. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
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