Like it is
Telling it Veteran actor Naseeruddin shah doesn’t Mind calling a spade a spade
Utterly bemused, he notes that whenever his car is stuck in a traffic snarl on the streets of Mumbai, street children come up and start singing, Ooh la la — the chartbuster from the multiple award- winning The Dirty Picture, in which he co- starred with Vidya Balan. At times, the kids serenade him with his hit song Oye oye from the daddy of all potboilers, Tridev.
That Naseeruddin Shah, at the age of 67, is recognised much more for his mainstream entertainers than for his brilliant portrayals in art- house cinema is just one of those things he has learnt to live with, he admitted before a gathering of i ntelligentsia. The occasion, during t he f i r st week of this month, marked the release of Aani Mag Ek Diwas, the Marathi edition of the actor’s bestseller biography And Then One Day, which was authored in English.
The event brimmed over with nostalgia since the book has been translated into Marathi by eminent writer- director Sai Paranjpye. Shah had acted in her feature film Sparsh ( 1980), essaying the role of a self- sufficient blind man, a performance that fetched him the Best Actor National Award.
This was followed by Katha ( 1983), the memorable adaptation of the ‘ Tortoise and the Hare’ fable, in which he was the slow and steady middle- class man who outraces his cunning opponent, marvellously enacted by the late Farooq Sheikh.
“Actually, Farooq wanted to play the part offered to me by Sai and I wanted to play the manipulative guy with t he s hades of grey,” Naseeruddin revealed. “However, Sai was sure about what she wanted and said nothing doing. The director is boss. She would not permit any such horse trading.”
Today, the actor and his director form a mutual admiration society. And who knows, they could collaborate once again some day.
The 80- year- old Sai informed the gathering that she has wrapped up a script which would suit Naseeruddin to a T. Enthusiastically, t he actor responded, “Anything, anytime for Sai. I am just a ‘ phone call away’,” and added warmly that, “I suspect she likes me as actor. If I remember correctly, she lost her cool with me only once during [ the shooting of] Katha. That was my fault. I was a bit distracted and was muffing up my lines at the dubbing studio.”
Naseeruddin Shah’s book covers his l i fe j ourney — right from his childhood and his days of struggle to his achievements — some of them due to luck by chance — in theatre and cinema.
“The English edition was favourably reviewed,” he pointed out, chuckling, “One reviewer went to the extent of claiming that And Then One Day was so well- written that I must have hired a ghost- writer. Now, that’s what I call a left- handed compliment.”
A Hindi translation is in the works. Meanwhile, Naseeruddin doesn’t intend to pen a sequel. “I’m not a professional writer,” he explained. “The autobiography came about because I was bored while shooting for the Hollywood film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I would find myself sitting in my hotel room doing nothing. That’s when I started writing and it took over a decade to complete. Still truth be told, I am t empted t o write about my f our decades in the Mumbai film industry — but it would turn out to be quite harsh. Maybe I will give it a go some day but use a pseudonym.”
The actor is correct on that count. Showbiz biggies tend to be extrat ouchy i f t hey are not praised unconditionally. On being told that Shabana Azmi — who has co- starred with him in several significant films l i ke Nishant, Sparsh, Paar and Masoom, to mention a few — was pleasantly surprised to find flattering remarks about her in the book, he was taken aback. “Really? I haven’t read t he i nterview i n which she has said that,” he exclaimed. “To describe Shabana as a fine actress would be stating the obvious in any case. I respect both Shabana and her mother, Shaukat aapa. They are extraordinary artistes.”
On the impact of social media sites, Naseer asserted, “I do not have a Twitter or Facebook account. I am not in tune wi t h t h a t . Ye s , my c o mment on Rajesh Khanna, given to a newspaper in the course of an interview, did go viral. I did apologise to his daughter Twinkle. My intention wasn’t to hurt anyone. But I still stand by my statement.”
The comment was critical of the late Rajesh Khanna but, as with all controversies, i t fizzled out once Naseeruddin expressed his regrets.
On t he subject of f i l m- r elated autobiographies, he said he was especially inspired by Peter O’ Toole’s Loitering with Intent. Vis- à- vis the book publishing scene in India, his take was, “Book writing does not pay sufficiently. I couldn’t ever think of taking up writing as a full- time profession. I would be cash- strapped.”
The release of Aani Mag Ek Diwas at a theatre auditorium was attended by a f ul l house. Si gned c opies by Naseeruddin and Sai flew off the shelves. Undoubtedly, the translated autobiography is headed towards the bestsellers’ list.
On the streets, though, the master actor continues to be serenaded to the beats of Ooh la la and Oye oye.
wknd@ khaleejtimes. com