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

Naseeruddin Shah

orn in 1950 and educated at the National School of Drama in Delhi, Naseeruddin Shah is now one of the icons of New Indian Cinema along with Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and Om Puri; indeed, he is arguably one of the finest actors in the world today, though the nature of world culture is such that the most mediocre American actors are more widely known around the world. Though his use of hesitant speech and casual gesture to signify psychological complexity sets him apart from mainstream actors, he has gained a fair amount of success in commercial cinema too.

Like many of the other actors of his genre, Naseeruddin Shah was first noticed by Shyam Benegal. He acted in Benegal's Nishant (1975), Manthan and Bhumika (1976). One of his most intense performances was given in Saeed Mirza's Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai ("What makes Albert Pinto angry?", 1980). In the movie, he plays a garage mechanic from Goa who dreams of the expensive cars that he repairs but that are far beyond his reach. The film is set in a Catholic setting, primarily because Mirza did not have the courage to tackle Muslim issues. Naseeruddin Shah has also acted for other New Indian Cinema directors including Mrinal Sen (Khandan, 1983) and Sai Paranjpye (Sparsh, 1979). Besides these "serious" roles, he has a penchant for comedy.

His roles in Ketan Mehta's films and also in films like Mandi, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron, and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1983), have endeared him to the Indian public. He has also not shied away from accepting roles in mainstream Hindi movies where he has played a variety of characters, though his slight frame has ensured that he is most often cast in a comic role. However, directors also utilize his great acting talent when a "character role" has to be played. What is surely most arresting about him is the sheer versatility of his talent. Naseeruddin Shah has also played and directed English and Hindi plays. This is not unimportant, since many of the most brilliant film actors came to the cinema after a long stint as theater actors. With his wife Ratna Pathak, Naseeruddin Shah continues to act regularly in plays, often at Shashi Kapoor's Prithvi Theatre.

Friday, February 9, 2007

Paar

The sacrifice

It is not easy to talk to a playwright about an unseen, unread play. But, in an e-mail interview with GOWRI RAMNARAYAN,Girish Karnad answers queries about `Bali,' premiered in its English version by the Leicester Haymarket Theatre, U.K., recently.

Naseeruddin Shah in `Bali'.

GOWRI RAMANARAYAN: What took you to so remote a source as a Jain epic by a tenth century poet?

GIRISH KARNAD: Early Kannada poetry (8th-13th centuries) was mostly created by Jain poets like Pampa. I came to Somadeva Suri through the Kannada poet Janna, parts of whose "Yashodhara Charite'' were prescribed in college. I was about 16 and enchanted. I first wrote it as a one-act play in Kannada and have kept on writing and rewriting it over the years. Somehow I could never get it right. When the Leicester Haymarket Theatre asked me to write a play for them, I went ahead with the myth that has haunted me through the years.

Since "Bali'' was commissioned by a British Theatre did you break your usual practice of writing the original in Kannada? Even if you wrote in English you would still have to deal with the linguistic and cultural translation of an alien milieu for a British audience.

Almost all my plays were first written in Kannada. Even with "Bali'' there are earlier Kannada drafts. I prefer to translate my own plays. When a problem is insurmountable I just find my own solution to it. I can take liberties with my work that another translator cannot. A.K.Ramanujan had offered to translate "Tughlaq'' into English, but although I consider him the greatest translator India has produced, I did not think his approach to prose would work for theatre dialogues. And I remember B.V.Karanth's indignation when he read my English translation of "Hayavadana''. As its Hindi translator he had spent hours trying to faithfully solve problems, which I had just ignored and gone ahead. But when an English-speaking company commissions a play, I try to write it in English because then the flow of thought develops a different logic. Dialogue written originally in English is naturally influenced by the associations that words carry in that language.

Why not a completely British cast? Do you feel that the key roles need to be done by Indians?

Vayu Naidu who commissioned the play was clear from the start that we would not ghettoise the production. The play has only four characters, all equally important. Director Nona Shepphard and Gary Taylor (King) are English, while Neve Taylor (Queen) has Indian connections. Actually Naseeruddin Shah was offered the role of the king but he preferred to play the mahout. Ratna Pathak Shah is Queen Mother. Since almost half the population of Leicester is of Indian origin, the idea was to attract them to the theatre. (I am afraid that as a community South Asians are not enthusiastic theatregoers). A star name on the marquee is always a help. Besides, Naseer is one of the great actors of our generation. And he is at home in English, he and his wife Ratna have done any amount of serious English theatre in India. An unforeseen bonus was that during the two years that it took to bring the play to the stage, Naseer acted in "Monsoon Wedding'' and became an international celebrity!

What was the director's approach to "Bali''?

Nona was invited by Vayu. she had directed Vayu's "Playboy of the Asian World'' and Ayub Khan Din's "East is East''. She teaches in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, so she immediately senses an actor's needs. I don't think she is the kind of person who would pore over books on Jainism because she is doing "Bali''. She doesn't indulge in abstract theorising and can immediately see a point. She has enormous practical experience besides. In fact, a true professional. We hit it off from the word go.

As I live in London and the rehearsals were going on in Leicester, I couldn't attend too many of them. But I would drop in once in a while to check if there was any rewriting required, any additional dialogues etc. The British actors had no problems with the play, since the central problem is essentially very human

Has the production brought new meanings out of the text? Any nuances discovered by the actors? 

Oh, definitely. Their contribution has been invaluable. The play is now very different from its initial draft.

Vayu and Nona worked in detail on the script with me as dramaturgs, that is, as critical readers. When I was younger I would write a play and hand it over right away to my publishers — Manohar Grantha Mala, Dharwad — for publishing. Then, as I saw a production on the stage, I would make corrections, which were incorporated into later editions. But increasingly I like to work with a dramaturg, and then with the director and actors, correcting, rewriting during rehearsals. That improves the work enormously.

How much have you retained and diverged from the original myth?

The original is a massive epic moving through several rebirths. Its basic aim is to teach the superiority of Jain values. My play takes place on a single location in 90 minutes. It is concentrated, as a play has to be. I am not a Jain. In fact I am not religious. But I am fascinated by the psychological as well as the philosophical resonance of the myth.

Naseer's family show

 

A man with many faces, he has played countless characters to perfection. From Gandhi to an angry garage mechanic, he's done it all. But this new one is special.

``Ismat Apa Ke Naam'' is more than just a play for Naseeruddin Shah -- it is more like a journey to rediscover his roots, revisiting his old love "theatre'', and a chance to re-explore and challenge his acting abilities. It is the first time he will share the stage with his daughter and his wife together and it also satisfies his longing to do a play in his own language -- Hindustani. "I always wanted to use my family's abilities and work as a team. Working together brings people closer, helps them to understand each other better. It holds special significance as I am working with my daughter Heeba,'' he says.

The play, dedicated to the memory of Ismat Chughtai, is the solo enactment of three stories - "Chhui Muee'' told by Heeba, "Mughal Baccha'' which deals with the landed gentry of Uttar Pradesh, enacted by Ratna Pathak Shah, and "Gharwali'' narrated by Naseeruddin Shah.

"Her stories have a beautiful, strange magic when they are told. It is about telling a story, thus connecting with someone. And like all story telling, the rhythm depends on the listener,'' says Naseeruddin.

With no props, no other characters to fall back on, minimal sets, only the actor, his monologues and the audience, the greatest challenge is holding the attention of the audience -- it is the test of acting in its purest form. A test which the Shahs have passed with flying colours, having done about 50 shows before a varied audiences.

``It goes back to the origin of theatre where there was the actor and the audience, it was interesting and different, '' says Heeba. On a more personal note, she adds: "It was great fun working with my dad, this is the first time he directed me. It taught me a lot. I learnt how to trust myself and others.''

Mainstream theatre in India has been largely dominated by English and in that this play stands apart. "It deals with characters that reflect who we are, characters that we can relate to,'' says Ratna Pathak Shah. "Theatre also gives us a chance to talk about issues that concern us. It provides a forum to explore and discuss these issues which television has long lost with the `saas bhau' sagas,'' she says. Lastly, this play is about imagination. "It is the kind of theatre which does not compete with cinema. Instead of spending lakhs on making a castle, it is about creating that castle in the audience's mind and not on stage,'' says Naseeruddin passionately. And that makes it worth watching.

The play will be staged at India Habitat Center here for four days beginning March 21.

By Mandira Nayar
Photo: V V Krishnan