Naseeruddin Shah

Some Lesser Known Facts About Naseeruddin Shah

• Naseeruddin started acting (Theatre) at a young age of 14. Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice was his first theatrical show.

• Not many people know that Naseeruddin is a descendant of a 19th-century warlord named Jan-Fishan Khan. The latter helped the British during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

• Shah’s father had initially hoped for him to become a doctor; however, Shah later chose to pursue a career in acting. In an interview, he talked about this and shared that his father had felt disappointed when he noticed Shah’s lack of dedication to his studies, which resulted in Shah failing his 9th-grade examinations. Shah went on to recount that when he expressed his aspiration to become an actor to his father, he questioned how Shah would sustain himself if he pursued a career in acting. ^[1]Hindustan Times

• Shah’s debut movie, Nishant (1975), was awarded the National Award in the Best Film category. The film was subsequently nominated for the Oscars.

• Rajendra Jaspal, a fellow actor and classmate of Shah, once stabbed him in the canteen of FTII. The former was envious of Shah signing certain films which he believed should have been his.

• His first wife, Late Parveen Murad, was 16 years older than him at the time of their marriage. 2 years later, the couple had a tiff and decided to part ways. However, Shah did not divorce his wife, as in his nikaahnama (Muslim marriage contract), Shah had not only promised a huge amount of money to his wife as alimony but had also disclaimed the right to bigamy.

• Even after becoming an established actor, Shah did not give up his love for theater. As a result, he along with a few friends founded a theater group named Motley Productions in the year 1977.

• Interestingly, Shah was the first choice to play the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the film- Gandhi (1982). However, Ben Kingsley overshadowed him at the auditions and grabbed the role.

• For his immense contribution to the field of acting/theater, Shah was awarded the Padma Shri in 1987 followed by the Padma Bhushan in 2003.

• Aside from Bollywood, Shah has also acted in a number Hollywood and Pakistani movies. His role of Captain Nemo in the 2003 Hollywood flick, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, was widely appreciated. Additionally, his second Pakistani film, Zinda Bhaag was selected as the country’s official entry into the 86th Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Language Film category.

• Notably, Shah has been honored with the lifetime membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy of Film and Television.

• His brother, Retd. Lt. General Zameerud-din Shah, is the present (2016) vice-chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), UP.

• Bad luck has constantly followed Shah as to date more than 20 feature films starring him have been shelved.

• Shah released his memoir titled And Then One day in 2014. In the memoir, the actor has admitted to having consumed marijuana (gaanja) in various phases of his life and credits it with giving him clarity of thought.

• According to reports, the directors of Harry Potter wanted to audition Naseeruddin Shah for the role of Albus Dumbledore, after the actor who played it passed away prior to the shooting of the third installment of the movie series. Shah, however, refused to audition and the role was passed over to English actor Michael Gambon.

• In March 2022, in an interview with a YouTube channel called Chalchitra, he revealed that he had been suffering from an ailment called onomatomania. According to the actor, the condition had caused him to think words and phrases constantly in his mind. ^[2]The Print He explained,
  

  Onomatomania is an ailment in which you keep repeating a word or a phrase, a sentence or a verse or an entire speech for no reason at all. Except that you like to hear it. I do it all the time so I am never quite at rest. Even when I am sleeping, I am going over some passage I love.”

• In June 2023, he opined about the futility of competitive awards given to actors in India and said that he uses Filmfare Awards as door handles in the washroom of his farmhouse. He said,
  

  Any actor who has put their life and effort into portraying a role is a good actor. If you just pick one person from the lot and say that ‘this is the best actor of the year’, how’s it fair? I am not proud of those awards. I did not even go collect the last two awards I received. So, when I built a farmhouse I decided to put these awards there. Whoever goes to the washroom will get two awards each as the handles are made of the Filmfare awards.” ^[3]India Today

• Naseeruddin Shah, in an interview, opened up about his complex relationship with his father, a source of lifelong regret for him. He shared that the main challenge was his father’s hot temper, which strained their bond. At one point in his life, he perceived his father as a villain and even decided to avoid replicating those traits when he became a father himself. Shah further added that his father’s anger sometimes overshadowed his positive qualities, causing him to forget the good aspects of him. In the interview, Shah admitted that he sometimes finds himself behaving like his father like not devoting ample time to his children and experiencing moments of frustration. ^[4]Hindustan Times Naseeruddin Shah said,
  

  I never wanted to be like my father with my kids. I wanted my kids to hug me and be free around me. It has happened to a certain point only because somewhere, unintentionally, the habits which were ingrained in you, not because of genetics but memetics. It sound waves and attitude around you tend to reside in you. Unwillingly, I have hardly spoken to my kids. I have never thrashed them, this is what I have learned from my father. I don’t want my kids to be scared of me. I don’t know how much I have succeeded but ideally, I want this. I haven’t been an ideal father because at times my anger took charge of me.”

• After the 2024 Lok Sabha election results, he talked about Narendra Modi in an interview with Karan Thapar and said he would like to see him in a skullcap (worn by Muslims) someday. He also criticised Modi for considering himself as God or sent by God.