Naseeruddin Shah Birthday Special: 5 Awesome Movies of the Acting Powerhouse That You Shouldn't Miss
We do hope that Shah, who is more busy with theatre these days, while occasionally dabbling in movies, to do more cinema
Naseeruddin Shah, one of the finest acting legends, is celebrating his 58th birthday today. And as avid lovers of good cinema, we feel blessed to be a part of the generation that gets to watch his movies. On behalf of the entire LatestLY desk, we wish this multi-faceted, acting powerhouse Many Many Happy Returns of the Day!
If pure talent and sheer acting ability were considered as the real prerequisites of being a superstar, then Naseeruddin Shah and the late Om Puri would have been the top of the pyramid in Bollywood. A National School of Drama product, Naseeruddin Shah gave Indian cinema so many memorable, powerful gems, especially in the '80s and the '90s. The winner of three National Film Awards, as well as Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, Shah was one of the connoisseurs of the rise of parallel cinema in the '70s and '80s with movies like Paar, Mirch Masala, Ardh Satya, Masoom etc. Unlike some of his peers, Naseeruddin Shah has also not shied away from dabbling in mainstream cinema, though to less impact, with films like Tridev, Mohra, Jalwa, Krrish and others.
On the occasion of his birthday, we list five of our favourite Naseeruddin Shah movies, where the man is in complete dominance of his craft.
Sparsh
They don't make sensitive love stories like these anymore! In this Sai Paranjpe classic, Naseersaab plays a visually impaired man who falls for a widow teaching at the school for blind, played gracefully by Shabana Azmi. Their romance has its ups and downs, as Naseer's character grapples with confusion about whether the attention he is getting from the woman is of love or pity.
Mirch Masala
In his illustrious career, Naseeruddin Shah has played a hero and a villain multiple times, and have excelled on both sides of morality. The finest example of his antagonistic role is of the arrogant, leery British subedar in Ketan Mehta's brilliant Mirch Masala. Though Smita Patil owns the film, Naseeruddin Shah leaves an indelible impression as the villain who doesn't need to make faces to show tyranny.
Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron
Like his roles, even genres doesn't matter for Mr Shah, as he can easily make you laugh as much as he can leave you in pain. A prime example of this is Kundan Shah's classic satire, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. Paired up with a terrific Ravi Baswani, Naseeruddin Shah will leave you all smiles from the start till the end, as the manipulated, do-gooder photographer. Too bad, not many film-makers tried exploring Shah's funny streak.
Masoom
Another excellent, nuanced performance from Shah as a man who brings a love child into his family, and lives with the guilt of that secret. This Shekhar Kapur movie deserves to be watched for the acting on display, the songs and sublime drama, that never goes overboard.
A Wednesday
Compares to some of the roles mentioned in this list, Naseeruddin Shah's Common Man is a more bombastic performance. But considering that he speaks out our frustration against the system's inability to protect, we can't help but cheer for him when he goes into that now-famous monologue about doing law's dirty job himself.
We do hope that Shah, who is more busy with theatre these days, while occasionally dabbling in movies, to do more cinema, and that the writers make good parts for him. You just can't sideline a true actor for the sake of less-talented stars, can you?
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2018 04:17 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).