• Naseeruddin Shah unveils a novel in Mumbai

  NewKerala.com - Found Jun. 22, 2009 Collins India, actor Naseeruddin Shah released 'Arzee, the Dwarf', a comical fiction penned by Chandrahas Choudhury in Mumbai. Naseeruddin Shah...

• Naseeruddin Shah unveils a novel in Mumbai

  Malaysia Sun - Found Jun. 20, 2009 Collins India, actor Naseeruddin Shah released 'Arzee, the Dwarf', a comical fiction penned by Chandrahas Choudhury in Mumbai. Naseeruddin Shah... Naseeruddin Shah unveils a novel in Mumbai - Yahoo! India Explore All

• Naseeruddin Shah unveils a novel in Mumbai

  Daily India - Found Jun. 20, 2009 Mumbai, June 20: In an event jointly hosted by Crossword India's Lifestyle Bookstore and Harper Collins India, actor Naseeruddin Shah released ...

• Naseeruddin Shah launches DVD on works of Shakespeare +

  Malaysia Sun - Found Apr. 27, 2009 Mumbai, Apr 24 : Bollywood actor Naseeruddin Shah launched a DVD consisting of works of Shakespeare on the occasion of 445th birth anniversary of

• English theatre fest in city

  Times of India - Found 1 hour ago Dubey, Bedi, Jariwala, Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak , Anupam Kher and Shabhana Azmi are all familiar performers to the eclectic theatre...

• Konkona Sen and Ranvir Shorey act in The Blue Mug, a play

  Mid Day - Found Jul. 1, 2009 Interestingly, Naseeruddin Shah, who Konkona considers her mentor, lent his farmhouse in Panvel for� rehearsals.

• Kat doesn't need short skirts!

  Times of India - Found Jun. 30, 2009 For example, in Prakash Jha?s Rajniti I?m the sole girl with power-house performers like Naseeruddin Shah, Ajay Devgan, Manoj Bajpai and...

• Ana Sagar encroachment: Bench seeks records

  Times of India - Found Jun. 29, 2009 The Common Cause Society had invited actor Naseeruddin Shah in January to spread awareness on the deterioration of the lake.

• Murder mystery with a difference worth watching

  Sunday Times South Africa - Found Jun. 27, 2009 ... interested but the films real attraction is its cast with each of the four male heavyweights, Naseeruddin Shah, Paresh Rawal, Boman Irani and...

• Is Bollywood too late on 9/11 movies?

  Mangalorean - Found Jun. 26, 2009 In the same year, veteran Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah touched upon the subject in his directorial debut 'Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota' but his... Movie review: New York - Times of India Liza Minnelli on friend Michael Jackson: 'He was a splendid& - Examiner.com Twilight star Jackson Rathbone starring in Shyamalan?s 'The Last ... - Examiner.com 'New York' begins where 'Khuda Kay Liye' ends: John Abraham - Mangalorean Explore All

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Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Born	20 March 1950 (1950-03-20) (age 59) Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India
Years active	1975 - present
Spouse(s)	Ratna Pathak Shah

Naseeruddin Shah (Hindi: नसीरुद्दीन शाह) (born 20 March 1950) is a National Film Award-winning Indian film actor and director. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.

Early life

Naseeruddin Shah was born in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is a descendant of the 19th-century Afghan warlord Jan Fishan Khan, and related to the writer Idries Shah.¹ Naseeruddin Shah did his schooling at St. Anselm's Ajmer and St Joseph's College,Naini Tal. He graduated in arts from Aligarh Muslim University in 1971 and attended National School of Drama in Delhi.

He has seen success in both mainstream Bollywood cinema as well as in Parallel Cinema. He also appeared in many international films most notably playing Captain Nemo in the Hollywood comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

His elder brother Zahiruddin Shah retired from the Indian Army in early 2008 as Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Planning and Systems) and formerly commanded Dimapur based 3 Corps. ²³

Career

Naseeruddin Shah became active in mainstream movies, Bollywood with the 1980 film Hum Paanch. His next major success in mainstream films was the 1986 multi-starrer film Karma where he acted alongside veteran Dilip Kumar. Sole hero films such as Ijaazat (1987), Jalwa (1988) and Hero Hiralal (1988) followed. In 1988 he played opposite his wife Ratna Pathak as Inspector Ghote, the fictional detective of H. R. F. Keating's novels in the Merchant-Ivory English language film The Perfect Murder.

He acted in several multi-starrer Bollywood films as well such as Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989) and Vishwatma (1992). In 1994, he acted as the villain in Mohra, his 100th film as an actor. 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 his dream of playing Mahatma Gandhi was realised when he played Gandhi in Kamal Hassan's critically acclaimed Hey Ram which focused on the assassination of Gandhi from the assailant's point of view.

Later, he starred in international projects such as Monsoon Wedding in 2001 and a Hollywood comic book adaptation The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen in 2003 (co-starring Sean Connery) where he played the role of Captain Nemo. His portrayal of Nemo was very close to the design of the graphic novel, although his Nemo was far less manic. He worked in an Indian adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth, titled Maqbool. in 2004. He then went on to work in The Great New Wonderful. He was most recently seen in A Wednesday.

He also made his Pakistani film debut in the critically-acclaimed and controversial film Khuda Ke Liye by Shoaib Mansoor where he played a short, yet powerful cameo.

Other media and art forms

In 1977, he along with Tom Alter and Benjamin Gilani formed a theatre group called Motley Productions. Their first play was Samuel Beckett's novel Waiting for Godot, which was staged at Prithvi Theatre on July 29, 1979.

In 1988, he acted in the eponymous television series based on the life and times of Mirza Ghalib, directed by Gulzar and telecast on DD National.

In 1989, he acted as the Maratha King Shivaji in another eponymous television series Bharat Ek Khoj based on Jawaharlal Nehru's book The Discovery of India directed by noted film director Shyam Benegal. The role of Aurangzeb was performed by Om Puri. It was speculated that he was paid a sum of Rupees Four Lakhs per episode. The story of Shivaji was spread over two episodes.

In 1998, he played the role of Mahatma Gandhi in the play Mahatma Vs. Gandhi, (which looked at the Mahatma's relation with Harilal Gandhi, his first son). With this, he achieved his objective of portraying Mahatma Gandhi, a role he had auditioned for Richard Attenborough's Gandhi. Incidentally, in 2000, he again portrayed the Mahatma, this time on film, in Hey Ram.

His performance in Sarfarosh (1999) was widely acclaimed. He played the villain with dual identity of a Ghazal singer and Pakistani spy who supports terrorism in India.

He was widely appreciated in his role of Mohit a drunken coach in the critically acclaimed film IQBAL. The role was specially written keeping him in mind by Vipul K Rawal, the writer of IQBAL. The role got him rave reviews.

He was the first of several celebrity actors, who played the role of narrator in the popular audiobook series for kids Karadi Tales,. He was also the narrator in the film Paheli - the Indian entry to the 2006 Academy Awards.

He has been awarded the life membership of International Film And Television Club of Asian Academy Of Film & Television.

As director

Naseeruddin Shah has been giving performances with his theatre troupe at places such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Lahore. He has directed plays written by Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto.

His directorial debut in movie, Yun Hota To Kya Hota, was released in 2006. The movie stars several established actors such as Paresh Rawal, Irfan Khan and newcomer Ayesha Takia and his own son Imaad Shah.

Personal life

He is married to Bollywood actress Ratna Pathak Shah. They have a daughter, Heeba, and two sons, Imaad and Vivaan.

Awards

• 1980: National Film Award for Best Actor, Sparsh
• 1980: Filmfare Best Actor Award, Aakrosh
• 1981: Filmfare Best Actor Award, Chakra
• 1983: Filmfare Best Actor Award, Masoom
• 1985: National Film Award for Best Actor, Paar
• 1984: The Volpi Cup (Award for Best Actor) at Venice Film Festival for Paar
• 1987: Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award
• 2000: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award
• 2000: IIFA (International Indian Film Academy) Award - Artistic Excellence for Performance in a Negative Role for Sarfarosh
• 2003: Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award
• 2004: 7th International Film Festival of Mumbai - Award for contribution to Indian cinema
• 2007: National Film Award for Best Supporting Actor, Iqbal
• 2008: Zenith Asia Award at the Asian Film Festival, Pune

Selected filmography

• Nishant (1975)- Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi
• Manthan (1976)- Smita Patil
• Bhumika (1977)- Smita Patil...Sunil Verma
• Junoon (1978)-Shabana Azmi ...Sarfaraz Khan
• Sparsh (1979- Shabana Azmi ...Aniruddh PArmar
• Aakrosh (1980)- Smita Patil
• Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai (1980)- Shabana Azmi
• Bhavni Bhavai (1980)- Smita Patil
• Chakra (1981)- Smita Patil
• Katha (1981)- Deepti Naval
• Umrao Jaan (1981)- Rekha
• Bazaar (1982)- Smita Patil
• Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron (1983)- Bhakti Barve
• Masoom (1983)- Shabana Azmi
• Woh 7 Din (1983)- Padmini Kohlapure
• Paar (1984)- Shabana Azmi
• Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho! (1984)
• Holi (1984)
• Ghulami (1985)- Smita Patil
• Trikaal (1985)
• Mirch Masala (1985)- Smita Patil
• Karma (1986)- Kishori Shahane
• Jalwa (1987)- Archana Puran Singh
• Tamas (1987)
• Ijaazat (1987)-Rekha
• Hero Hiralal (1988)- Sanjana Kapoor
• Maalamaal (1988)
• Pestonjee (1988)-Shabana Azmi
• The Perfect Murder (1988) - Ratna Pathak
• Tridev (1989)- Sonam
• Ek Ghar (1991)
• Vishwatma (1992)- Sonam
• Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa (1993)

sir 1993

• Mohra (1994)- Mr. Zindal
• Naajayaz (1995)- Reema Lagoo
• Chaahat (1996)
• Bombay Boy's(1997)
• Chinagate (1998)
• Such a Long Journey (1998)
• Sarfarosh (1999)
• Hey Ram (2000) Mahatma Gandhi
• Monsoon Wedding (2001)- Lalit Verma
• The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) as Captain Nemo
• Encounter: The Killing (2002)- Tara Deshpande
• Maqbool (2003)
• 3 Deewarein (2003)- Sujata Mehta
• Main Hoon Na (2004)- Brig. Shekhar Sharma
• Paheli (2005) Voice of narrator
• The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005)
• Iqbal (2005)
• Being Cyrus (2006)-Dinshaw Sethnaa
• Krrish (2006)
• Omkara (2006)
• Banaras (2006)
• Parzania (2007)-Sarika
• Amal (2007)
• Khuda Ke Liye(2007)
• Dus Kahaniyaan(2007)
• Mithya(2008)
• Shoot on Sight (2008)
• Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na (2008)
• A Wednesday (2008)
• Maharathi (2008) as Jaisingh Adenwalla
• Barah Aana (2009) as Shukla
• Firaaq (2009) as Khan Sahab

Co-Producer

• Raghu Romeo (2003) (released)

Director

• Yun Hota To Kya Hota (2006)

References

1. ^ Narayanan, Renuka. "The way of the goofy". Indian Express. http://www.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/20010219/ied19024.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-31. 
2. ^ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/uncategorized/indian-army-promises-transparency-in-defence-deals_10026004.html
3. ^ http://www.eastarmy.nic.in/views-counter-views/ied-victims.html

External links

• Naseeruddin Shah at the Internet Movie Database
• Full Filmography
• A review of the play Mahatma Vs. Gandhi
• Article mentioning that Naseeruddin Shah lost out on the title role for the film Gandhi
• Article about Shah's direction of plays
• Narrator of Karadi tales
• An interview about state of Bollywood movies
• An article about Naseerudddin Shah's directorial debut in Cinema
• Award at the International Film Festival of Mumbai

v • d • e Shah family 1st generation Muhammed Shah (Jan Fishan Khan) 3rd generation Amjad Ali Shah 4th generation Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah · Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah · Bibi Mehmooda Begum 5th generation Amina Shah · Omar Ali-Shah · Idries Shah · Aqil Hussain Barlas · Naseeruddin Shah · Syed Kamal · Mir Ahmed Shah 6th generation Arif Ali-Shah · Amina Ali-Shah · Saira Shah · Tahir Shah · Safia Shah · Owais Shah · Adil Hussain Barlas  · Meraj Ahmed Shah  · Faraaz Ahmed Shah