Daily Times

Naseeruddin Shah shared his transition from commercial to parallel cinema, his inspiration from Hollywood movies and the connection he had with Mirza Ghalib in a recent live appearance at Karachi Literature Festival 2022.

The veteran star’s interview session came as a surprise for everyone as it was not mentioned in the printed programme.

Shedding light on how the ‘Gehraiyaan’ actor started out at a commercial actor despite his unlikeness, he said, “I worked in commercial cinema despite not having the looks of a hero. I never fit in either but I suppose it was my mother’s prayers that got me here.”

“I’ve done a lot of underwhelming films. But it was always actors like Anthony Quinn that kept me going. They weren’t great looking either but they kept getting work because of their capability to deliver,” the 71-year-old actor described.

The actor further noted that he is thankful people only remember his work in films like Masoom and Mirza Ghalib and not his failed attempts at acting like Sunayana, Shaayad or Khwab.

“I’ve done several such films that thankfully no one recalls,” Shah added. Talking about his inspirations, Shah revealed his craft is influenced from Hollywood films which he got a chance to watch ‘unsupervised’ during childhood.

“I would end up comparing Uran Khatola to The Wizard of Oz, a film like Azaad to The Prisoner of Zenda. I could see clearly the problems with Hindi films from back then,” Shah recalled. “But I also knew that if I wanted to be an actor, I’ll have to work with similar problems. In the early 70s, Hindi cinema had also started churning out serious films and I made a mission to find a way to work in them.”

The host, Shahzaad Sharjeel, told the actor of the popularity of his film Mirza Ghalib in Pakistan, to which he replied that his paternal aunt and uncle had the house in the same street where Ghalib resided.

He went on saying, “We’d always see this beautiful haveli that was in shambles and everyone would tell us that a ‘poet named Mirza Ghalib used to live here’.”

The actor also spoke about his family and his favourite Hyderabadi cuisine. Taking the audience to the time when he had a lot of work and his wife Ratna Pathak Shah would have none and she would feel ignored.

He said, “I also knew in my heart that like me, Ratna and after her, my daughter Hiba, were not meant for commercial films. But while they might not be leading stars in a masala hit, because they are actors who can deliver, people will eventually recognise their worth.”