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Naseeruddin Shah

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File:Mirza Ghalib dvdcover.jpg
Naseeruddin Shah in the role of Mirza Ghalib

Naseeruddin Shah aka Nasiruddin Shah (b. 20 July, 1950) is an Indian movie actor. He has seen success in both mainstream Bollywood movies as well as in art films.


Early life

Shah showed interest in an acting career from his childhood. He graduated from the National School of Drama in 1973 and enrolled in the Film and Television Institute of India the same year. He first appeared in Shyam Benegal's 1975 film, Nishant.

Early career

He established himself as a good actor and won the Indian government's National Award for Best Actor in 1979 for an effective portrayal of a blind man in the film Sparsh (literally "Touch"). This was also the time when several young directors were making movies that were different from those produced till then. This movement was termed the New wave, with actors such as Shah, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Om Puri getting better opportunities. He also won three Filmfare awards during this period. His performance in Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, a comedy, displayed his versatility but at the same time, also made it difficult to categorise him. In the interim, he was considered for the title role in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi, but finally the role went to Ben Kingsley. Shah was very disappointed that he could not bag the role.

In mainstream cinema

He became active in the mainstream movies, popularly known as Bollywood with the 1986 film Karma, in which he was one of the heroes. Films starring him as sole hero such as Jalwa and Hero Hiralal followed. He acted in several supporting roles as well. In 1994, he acted as the villain in Mohra, his 100th film as an actor. 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. Later, he starred in international projects such as Monsoon Wedding and a movie adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (co-starring Sean Connery) where he played the role of Captain Nemo. He worked in a Bollywood adaption of Shakespeare's Macbeth, titled Maqbool.

Other media and art forms

In 1988, he acted in the eponymous television series based on the life and times of Mirza Ghalib, directed by Gulzar and telecast on the Doordarshan.

In 1998, he played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the play Mahatma Vs. Gandhi, (which looked at the Mahatma's relation with Harilal Gandhi, his first son). With this, he achieved his objective of portraying Mahatma Gandhi. Incidentally, in 2000, he again portrayed the Mahatma, this time on film, in Hey Ram.

He took the role of narrator in Karadi tales, an audio recording of stories for kids. He was also the narrator in the film Paheli - the Indian entry to the 2006 Oscars.

As director

Naseeruddin Shah has been giving performances with his theatre troupe at places such as New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. He has directed plays written by Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto. He did not act in the plays directed by him.

His directorial debut in movies is expected to release in 2006 and he has announced that he would not be starring in this movie (working title: Yun Hota to Kya Hota). The movie stars several established actors such as Paresh Rawal and newcomer Ayesha Takia.

Trivia

  • His wife Ratna Pathak Shah and daughter Heeba Manara Shah have also graduated from the National School of Drama (1981 and 1999 batches respectively).

Awards

  • 2004: 7th International Film Festival of Mumbai – Award for contribution to Indian cinema
  • 2003: Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award
  • 2000: IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Award - Artistic Excellence for Performance in a Negative Role for Sarfarosh
  • 1987: Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award
  • 1984: The Volpi Cup (Award for Best Actor) at Venice Film Festival for Paar
  • 1984: National Award for Best Actor – awarded by Government of India for Paar
  • 1983: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Masoom
  • 1981: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Chakra
  • 1980: Filmfare Best Actor Award for Aakrosh
  • 1979: National Award for Best Actor – awarded by Government of India for Sparsh

Selected filmography

Co-Producer

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