The acting coach isn’t afraid to speak his mind and is renowned for having strong ideas. Naseeruddin Shah can be seen as a voice of reason in an era of meaningless loudness, political correctness, and, in some circumstances, golden silences, notwithstanding the odd foot in mouth.
Is Naseeruddin Shah’s gussa aata hai? There are several causes for this. His personal peeves are parallel cinema’s hypocrisy, mediocrity in Hindi films, Bollywood’s sycophancy towards the powers-that-be, a hostile sectarian atmosphere, the Taliban’s ascent, Anupam Kher, and Virat Kohli, in no particular order. Shah, who was hospitalized earlier this year for pneumonia, knows how to whip up a storm in the kitchen.
Now that he’s feeling better, the 71-year-old actor has taken a risk by reflecting on the major concerns of the day, both in his own business and in the country as a whole. He suggested — in typical Naseer fashion — that the three Khans are afraid to speak out on social and political issues because “they have much to lose,” and even went so far as to claim that some filmmakers are being encouraged by the ruling establishment to make pro-government films in a recent interview that made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Naseeruddin Shah, who is silver-haired and has a deep voice, has a history of taking a controversial position. He referred to his old pal Anupam Kher as a “clown” (which was uncalled for) and Kangana Ranaut as a “half-educated starlet,” but he subsequently clarified that he didn’t identify her. He criticized Rajesh Khanna as a “limited actor” before apologizing for his remarks and calling Farhan Akhtar’s performance in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag “false.” In an India Today conference last year, he acknowledged that he respected Vijay Anand “more than Guru Dutt.” Shah’s searing polemics have not spared even the venerable alternative cinema that provided him a breather and sustained him.
