Filmworld
How not-good-looking Naseer got his first film 'Nishant'
By
By Shilpa Raina It was not merely for his
acting prowess that the Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah got his first
role in "Nishant". Not being a good-looking actor had instantly struck a
chord with the film's director, Shyam Benegal, who cast him for a
pivotal role.
"I had lost a girl friend for not being a good
looking man who would make it to the movies, but I got the job because I
wasn't good looking," Shah said.
The 65-year-old actor was in
conversation with writer and actor Girish Karnad at the "And Then One
Day" session on the opening day of the Jaipur Literature Festival.
Interestingly, there is a long history behind the camaraderie between the two.
Karnad
was the director of prestigious Film and Television Institute of India
when Nasser was a student there and it was he who had suggested Shah's
name to Benegal, who was sure that he didn't want a "conventional
chocolaty boy" for the role.
"Once Naseer had come to me and
asked if him being a Muslim would be an obstacle to his acting career? I
had told him that Dilip Kumar too was a Muslim who was loved by many
and all," said Karnad.
But even after making a powerful debut,
Shah recollected how "instant fame" was difficult to come by and how he
had to go through a period of struggle when he was relatively "jobless".
However,
Benegal's "Manthan", which also featured Karnad, changed the course of
his career and Shah was seen in a slew of films like "Sparsh" "Aakrosh"
and "Mandi" that required a method actor and not a star.
Yet, the
lament of not-being a star has disappointed Shah, who admitted that he
hadn't joined the industry to do "art movies", but slowly came in terms
with his ordinary looks.
"I never became a star and I have to admit that it was disappointing," said Shah.
"But
then I started examining my face and realised I could alter it. Even
from my early years, when I was 15 or 16, I had this habit of growing
beard and my greatest achievement was when my mother couldn't recognise
me," he added.
Even if the seasoned actor thought he wasn't a
star, the reception he received from the crowd was overwhelming as they
shouted and clapped at his arrival on the stage.
This response
reconfirmed how people loved him for his acting and ordinary looks that
have become unconventional in their own way.