DIFF: Naseeruddin Shah on playing Tagore; business of bad movies
He's an actor par excellence, no doubt, one, who is stripped of the typical star tantrums or egos, but one who demands a sense of dignity and respect, and rightly so.
Sitting opposite the Bollywood legend, just minutes after watching his staggeringly poignant 'Waiting' at the Dubai International Film Festival, can be quite nerve-wrecking, but one that the senior actor quickly clears out with his genuine warmth.
Within minutes of our meeting, we are chatting away about movies – good and bad, his personal favourites, his boys and what surprises he has in store for us.
Excerpts of our interview...
E24|7: You’ve said this movie has made up for all the bad movies you have done so far.
Naseer: Since I crossed 50, I’ve been getting more and more interesting parts, or offers, than what I got as a young man. I did a film like ‘Ishqiya’, ‘A Wednesday’, and a few others. But, there’s also been a lot of rubbish that’s come my way. For one reason or another I have accepted. The reason is not always the lure of money.
Even earlier in my career, I did a lot of terrible movies luckily they weren’t noticed. But, I did them in the hope that this film seems to have the germ of a good idea. So, it just might turn out to be good. It’s the roll of the dice, you know.
When you read a script. You can never know what kind of a film it will turn out to be.
On the set, you begin to sense it after a day or two, and then it’s too late. If you are on a bad trip you are stuck on. You got to see it through. If it’s a good trip like this one (‘Waiting’), then you enjoy it. And, luckily this one turned out to be very, very good.”
E24|7: You are one of those rare actors who talks about your bad movies. But, I want to know, among your good movies, which are your best?
Naseer: ‘Masoom’ (directed by Shekhar Kapur) tops the list. It is the finest film I’ve done in my life. There’s a Pakistani film called ‘Khudha Ke Liye’, which I think is the most important film I’ve done in my life. The things that ‘Khudha Ke Liye’ talks about is what bothered me as a child, because I was brought up in a very orthodox Muslim household. Then, I did another Pakistani movie called ‘Zinda Bhaag’, which is about illegal immigrants, which is a real problem in Pakistan. The uneducated youth who want to run away to Dubai or Canada to get a better future.
Then, there’s ‘Sparsh’ (directed by Sai Paranjpye) and ‘Manthan’ (directed by Shyam Benegal). ‘Manthan’ is my second movie about the Gujarat milk cooperative movement. And, then there’s a movie called ‘Bhavni Bhavai’, which was in Gujarati, made by Ketan Mehta. His first film. You can’t find it on DVD any more, the print is got lost or something, but that one was a really wonderful movie.
E24|7: What about ‘Iqbal’, that’s one of our favourites of yours.
Naseer: ‘Iqbal’ is a good film, but not among the top.
E24|7: In fact, I also put ‘Dirty Picture’ in that list because I found it interesting how you tackled that character.
Naseer: It was fun for me, but my complaint with ‘Dirty Picture’ is that it didn’t come anywhere near the truth of Silk Smitha. It also reinforced the stereotypes. And, it’s not a film that you can make a pleasant film on.
E24|7: It could have been more honest?
Naseer: It should have been. It should have been.
E24|7: Moving on, you are an actor who never minces your words, and speaks your mind. Do you think actors should be apolitical?
Naseer: I think they should express about things they feel strongly about. They have as much right as anybody else does.
E24|7: You had said earlier that Pakistani movies should stop aping Bollywood, just as Bollywood’s aping Hollywood. Do you think it’s crucial for Bollywood to define its own identity?
Naseer: If you ask the popular filmmakers they will say no. ‘We are doing perfectly well, thank you’. ‘We are making money’. Which is the purpose of Bollywood movies to exist. So that’s ok. There’s no redemption for those kind of movies. And, one is not even looking at them in the hope that the quality will improve, ever. Because they are not being made with an intention of making good films. They are being made with an intention to make money.
E24|7: It's not art...
Naseer: (Laughs loudly) "Oh! Art is very far away. It’s not even creative. That’s my issue. It’s not as if entertaining cinema can’t be great cinema too. There’s the ‘Wizard of Oz’... there are Hitchcock’s movies. There are Sergio Leone movies. But, somehow we seem to believe otherwise.
E24|7: This, I’ve read online that you will play Rabrination Tagore. Is that true?
Naseer: I have been sent a script by an Argentinian filmmaker Pablo Cesar. And, I feel terrific about it. I don’t look anything like him. But I think, with the fungus I’ll manage.
E24|7: And, you’ve played Mahatma Gandhi (in ‘Hai Ram’) before...
Naseer: Ya, I’ve played Gandhi. I’ve played Ghalib. I’ve played Einstein. So, if they ever made a film on the meeting of Einstein and Gandhi I could play both (laughs loudly).
E24|7: Your sons are in the movie industry as well. Does your take on cinema have an influence on them?
Naseer: Oh! They are old enough to even to be objective of my work. In fact, they’ve never been great fans of my work. They’ve always loved Akshay Kumar and people like that. You can’t blame them. He (Akshay) provides the fantasy. Baba does these boring movies. So, that’s all right. I suppose at some time they’ll value my work.
E24|7: You've written your book, done theatre and acted and directed movies. What other surprises are in store?
Naseer: Maybe there’s another couple of surprises still remaining. If I talk about them... then they won’t be surprises (laughs).