Naseeruddin Shah | |
|---|---|
 Shah at IFP Season 912 October 2019 | |
| Born | (1950-07-20)20 July 1950 (age 75) Barabanki,Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | Film and Television Institute National School of Drama Aligarh Muslim University |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1972–present |
| Works | Full list |
| Spouse(s) | Manara Sikri (deceased) |
| Children | 3, inc.Imaad andVivaan |
| Relatives | Shah family |
| Honours | Padma Bhushan Padma Shri |
| Signature | |
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Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor who works primarily inHindi films. He was notable in Indianparallel cinema and has starred in various international productions.[1][2] He has won numerous awards in his career, including threeNational Film Awards, threeFilmfare Awards and theVolpi Cup for Best Actor at theVenice Film Festival. TheGovernment of India honoured him with thePadma Shri and thePadma Bhushan awards for his contributions to Indian cinema.[3]
In 1982, he married his second wife, actressRatna Pathak,[4] daughter of actressDina Pathak, with whom he has two sons. His sister-in-law is actressSupriya Pathak, who is married to actorPankaj Kapur.
Naseeruddin Shah was born on 20 July 1950 inBarabanki town,Uttar Pradesh, into aNawab family.[5] His great-great-grandfather was theAfghanwarlordJan-Fishan Khan, who would go on to become theNawab of Sardhana.[6] His relatives include author-diplomatIkbal Ali Shah, poetAmina Shah,Omar Ali-Shah andIdries Shah, the latter of whom bothSufi writers.[7] His relatives fromPakistan include actor-directorSyed Kamal, Shah Mahboob Alam, former joint director and head ofPakistan's Intelligence Bureau inSindh andBalochistan, and cricketerOwais Shah.[8]
Shah attended St. Anselm's Ajmer school andSt Joseph's College, Nainital.[9] He graduated in arts fromAligarh Muslim University in 1971 and attendedNational School of Drama in Delhi.[10]
His elder brother, Lt. GeneralZameerud-din Shah[11] (Retd.) PVSM, SM, VSM, had a distinguished career in the military, having served asDeputy Chief of the Army Staff of theIndian Army, and later was appointed a member of theArmed Forces Tribunal and alsoVice-Chancellor ofAligarh Muslim University.[12][13]
Shah started his film career in the mid 1970s inparallel cinema and has acted infilms such asNishant,Aakrosh,Sparsh,Mirch Masala,Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Ata Hai,Trikal,Bhavni Bhavai,Junoon,Mandi,Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho!,Ardh Satya andKatha.[14]
Shah became active in mainstreamBollywood cinema with the 1980 filmHum Paanch.[15] In 1982, he acted in the filmDil Aakhir Dil Hai directed by Ismail Shroff, oppositeRakhee. One of his most important films,Masoom, was released in 1983[16] and was shot atSt Joseph's College, Nainital. That same year, he appeared in the cult comedy filmJaane Bhi Do Yaaron. His next major success in mainstream films was the 1986 multi-star filmKarma where he acted alongside veteranDilip Kumar.[17] Starring roles for films such asIjaazat (1987),Jalwa (1988) andHero Hiralal (1989) followed. In 1988, he played opposite his wifeRatna Pathak asInspector Ghote, the fictional detective ofH. R. F. Keating's novels in theMerchant Ivory English language filmThe Perfect Murder. He acted withAditya Pancholi in films likeMaalamaal (1988) andGame (1993).
He has acted in several multi-starrer films as well, such asGhulami (1985),Tridev (1989) andVishwatma (1992). In 1994, he acted as thevillain inMohra, his 100th film as an actor. He forayed intoMalayalam cinema the same year, throughT. V. Chandran's dramaPonthan Mada. The film portrayed the irrational bonding of a feudal serf (played byMammootty) and a colonial landlord (played by Shah). He strongly believed that the distinction between art and commercial films had largely reduced, especially with the directors of the former also making commercial films. In 2000, Shah playedMahatma Gandhi inKamal Haasan'sHey Ram[18] which focused on the assassination of Gandhi fromthe assailant's point of view.
Shah played Mohit, the drunken coach to a deaf and mute boy inIqbal.[19] Shah was noted for his roles in the 1999Aamir Khan-starrerSarfarosh, where he played Gulfam Hassan – aghazal singer-cum-terrorist mastermind — and inNeeraj Pandey'sA Wednesday (2008).
Shah has also starred in international projects, such asMonsoon Wedding in 2001 and a Hollywood adaptation ofThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003 (co-starringSean Connery), where he playedCaptain Nemo. His portrayal of Nemo was very close to the design of the graphic novel, although his Nemo was far less manic. He worked inVishal Bhardwaj's Indian adaptation ofShakespeare'sMacbeth, titledMaqbool, in 2003, andRajiv Rai'sAsambhav oppositeArjun Rampal andPriyanka Chopra in 2004. He then went on to work inThe Great New Wonderful (2005). Shah played a pivotal role inToday's Special,Aasif Mandvi's 2009 independent comedy film. In 2011, Shah was seen inThe Dirty Picture. He acted in Anup Kurian'sThe Blueberry Hunt, playing a recluse growingmarijuana in his forest retreat, and inWaiting, starring oppositeKalki Koechlin, both of which were released in 2016.
Shah made hisPakistani film debut inKhuda Ke Liye byShoaib Mansoor, where he played a short cameo. His second Pakistani filmZinda Bhaag was selected as the country's official entry to the86th Academy Awards for theBest Foreign Language Film award.
Shah has performed with his theatre troupe at places such as New Delhi,Mumbai,Bangalore andLahore. He has directed plays written by Lavender Kumar,Ismat Chughtai andSaadat Hasan Manto.[citation needed]
His directorial debut in movies,Yun Hota To Kya Hota, was released in 2006.[20] It stars several established actors such asKonkona Sen Sharma,Paresh Rawal,Irrfan Khan, then-newcomerAyesha Takia, his sonImaad Shah and his old friendRavi Baswani.[21]
In 1977, Shah,Tom Alter andBenjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play wasSamuel Beckett'sWaiting for Godot, which was staged at thePrithvi Theatre on 29 July 1979.[22]
In 1988, he acted in theeponymoustelevision series based on the life and times ofMirza Ghalib, directed byGulzar and telecast onDD National.[23]
In 1989, he acted as theMaratha KingShivaji in anothereponymous television seriesBharat Ek Khoj based onJawaharlal Nehru's bookThe Discovery of India.[24]
In the mid-1990s, Shah also hosted some episodes of science magazine programmeTurning Point.[25]
In 1999, he acted as a special agent in the TV seriesTarkash onZee TV.[26] He played a retired agent haunted by nightmares who is re-inducted as he apparently knows something about a dreaded terrorist somehow connected with his past.[27] He played the villain with the dual identity of aghazal singer and aPakistani spy who supports terrorism in India inSarfarosh (1999).[28] He was the first of several celebrity actors, who played narrator in the popular audiobook series for kidsKaradi Tales.[29] He along with wife Ratna was the narrator in the filmPaheli — the Indian entry to the2006 Academy Awards.[30]
In 2017, Shah returned to film, starring in the Shakespearean adaptationThe Hungry, screened under special presentations at theToronto International Film Festival 2017.[31] He also acted as lead inThe Coffin Maker directed by Veena Bakshi, which however never got released in public but only remained for private viewership.[32]
Shah was married to Manara Sikri and had a daughter, Heeba Shah, with her. In the 1970s, Shah met and fell in love withRatna Pathak, the daughter ofDina Pathak, a well-respected character actress. During the 70s and 80s they co-starred in several films, includingMirch Masala andThe Perfect Murder.[33] They were in a live-in relationship for many years, while Shah put together themehr required to divorce Manara. Shah and Pathak were finally married in 1982.[34] By his second marriage, Shah has two sons,Imaad andVivaan, both of whom are actors. The couple lives inMumbai with Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan.[35]
 |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | Best Actor | Sparsh | Won |
| 1984 | Paar | Won | |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Actor | Iqbal | Won |
| 1980 | Best Supporting Actor | Junoon | Nominated |
| 1981 | Best Actor | Aakrosh | Won |
| 1982 | Chakra | Won | |
| 1983 | Bazaar | Nominated | |
| 1984 | Masoom | Won | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Katha | Nominated | |
| Mandi | Nominated | ||
| 1985 | Best Actor | Sparsh | Nominated |
| 1994 | Best Supporting Actor | Sir | Nominated |
| 1995 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Mohra | Nominated |
| 1996 | Best Supporting Actor | Naajayaz | Nominated |
| 1997 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Chaahat | Nominated |
| 1999 | Best Supporting Actor | China Gate | Nominated |
| 2000 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Sarfarosh | Nominated |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Actor | Iqbal | Nominated |
| 2007 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Krrish | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Actor | A Wednesday! | Nominated |
| 2012 | Best Supporting Actor | The Dirty Picture | Nominated |
| 2021 | Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Bandish Bandits | Nominated |
| Best Actor in a Web Original Film | Mee Raqsam | Nominated | |
| 2000 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Sarfarosh | Won |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Actor | Iqbal | Nominated |
| 2008 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Mithya | Nominated |
| 2009 | Best Actor | A Wednesday! | Nominated |
| 2011 | Best Performance in a Negative Role | Allah Ke Banday | Nominated |
| 2012 | The Dirty Picture | Nominated | |
| Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| 2015 | Finding Fanny | Nominated | |
| 1986 | Best Actor (Hindi) | Paar | Won |
| 2006 | Best Supporting Actor (Hindi) | Iqbal | Won |
| 1984 | Volpi Cup for Best Actor | Paar | Won |
In an interview withHT Brunch, Shah speaks about having thought about an autobiography for almost 10 years. He penned down his thoughts occasionally during this period until he finally came up with 100-odd pages. What had started as an amusing pastime had clearly grown into something much deeper. He then presented the unfinished version to his friend, historianRamchandra Guha, who encouraged Shah to complete it and send it to a publication house.[36] Shah's memoir is titledAnd Then One Day, and was published by Hamish Hamilton.[37]
Born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, Naseeruddin Shah is the descendant of the 19th century Afghan warlord, Jan Fishan Khan. He is also related to Afghan writer Idries Shah, famous Pakistani actor Syed Kamal Shah, the former joint director and head of Pakistan's Intelligence Bureau in Sindh and Balochistan, Shah Mahboob Alam, and cricketer Owais Shah.
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Shah family | ||
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| 2nd generation | not applicable | |
| 3rd generation | not applicable | |
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