9 Controversial Roles Naseeruddin Shah Had The Guts To Play

“No art passes our conscience in the way film does, and goes directly to our feelings, deep down into the dark rooms of our souls.” – Ingmar Bergman

Naseeruddin Shah, the renowned actor who shines both on the silver screen and on stages, seems to have taken and follow this saying by Bergman by heart. More than anything, his choice of roles and the more than successful portrayal of the said roles have given him a legendary status.

Here are 9 of his creatively controversial roles that clearly depict his devotion to acting.

1. The common man, from A Wednesday

This film saw Naseer as an unnamed common man, a representative of the thousands of mango people who reside in our country. Much disgusted and frustrated with the way law works in our country, this common man decided to take teh law in his own hands. Needless to say, this film garnered much appraisal and criticism! It also established Naseeruddin as an icon in the minds of today’s youths.

 

2. Maulana Wali, in Khuda Kay Liye

Though he appeared much later in this Pakistani movie, in his distinguished style Naseeruddin portrayed the character of a devout maulavi, who was not afraid to question the immoral ways in which Islam is being used to generate terrorism. Later, the actor was quoted saying in an interview that ” In Pakistan they had the guts to produce a movie like Khuda Ke Liye. But no one has dared to make a film like that in India so far.”

 

3. Suryakanth, from The Dirty Picture

This role showed Naseer in a completely different avatar than what people were used to. The veteran actor, who acted in the role of a typical film hero, flirted, danced, took advantage of, and showed his naughty sides, all the while giving tough competitions to his much younger co-stars in this movie.

 

4. Sarfaraz Khan, in Junoon

Naseeruddin shone as a freedom fighter in this 1978 movie. Set against the backdrop of the Sepoy mutiny, and based on Ruskin Bond’s novella A Flight of Pigeons, Naseeruddin proved himself to be indispensable to Bollywood through this film, though he didn’t have the lead character.

 

5. Salman Habib, from Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

As a father who abandoned his child and his responsibilities, even in a guest appearance, Naseeruddin Shah left his mark in ZNMD. He is every free-spirited person who left a love child in some corner of the world, yet he is the bad father every person thanks his lucky stars for not having!

 

6. Cyrus Pithawala, in Parzania

Based on a true story, this film shows Naseer as a man who is dealing with the aftermaths of the 2002 Gujarat riots. His character Cyrus Pithawala lost his son, and is on the verge of losing his sanity, and is also desperately trying to keep his family together. This movie saw Naseer in one of his most brilliant avatars in recent times.

 

7. Khan Saheb, from Firaaq

Another movie set against the background of the Gujarat riots of 2002, it was extremely controversial to begin with. Naseer’s Khan Saheb portrayed the plight of every common man who was caught between the political gambles of much larger forces.

 

8. Khalujaan, from Ishqiya

One’s greatness lies not in the great roles he plays, but in the way even as a simpleton he can blow our minds. And Naseer did just that in this movie. As a love-stricken petty criminal, who goes to great lengths to save his disloyal love, Naseeruddin blew our minds with his performance as Khalujaan.

 

9. DK, in Masoom

It’s not easy to portray a man who has been infidel to his wife, and yet Naseeruddin did it in this cult movie with precision. His portrayal of DK, who is suddenly burdened with a past relationship and his love child, and is desperately trying to save his marriage, made even the stone-hearted audience empathize with him.

Happy birthday Sir, do keep up the good work. 🙂

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