Nostalgic Shah
Source: Bangalore Mirror; Column: ETC; (c) Author: Puja Goyal
Nasseruddin Shah's interest in theatre started when he perchanced upon Geoffrey Kendall's theatre group while still in school. "There was a workshop organised by Kendell which blew my mind away; there were a number of well- known and distinguished actors like Vijay Tendulkar who participated but two gentlemen got my attention. Mr. Dubey and Mr. Girish Karnad. They stood at the sidelines and smoked incessantly. I couldn't wait to grow up and stand in the sides and smoke like them," Jokes Shah. Mr. Dubey is one of the few people who influenced Shah's interests in theatre. Shah's first break in the movies came when Shyam Benegal was looking for a lead actor for his film 'Nishaant'. "Shyam was looking for an actor who was skilled but not handsome, so I suggested Nasseruddin," laughs Karnad. Shyam Benegal then offered him a role in his upcoming film Nishaant. He was so impressed with Nasseruddin Shah that Benegal starred him in most of his succeeding films.
It's been a long road from Aligarh a small town Nasseruddin grew up in, to now. "I was blown away by theatre because of its visual impact; when I was young. Two plays by Dubey came to town, one of which was 'Evam Indrajit'. I thought this was the ultimate as far as theatre is concerned. I had never seen acting of this level in my life." Working with people like Girish Karnad and Satyadeb Dubey has taught Shah a lot in theatre. Theatre initially was a concept which was flamboyant and the director was the king. Now, it was for the first time that Shah realized the subtleties of what makes a good director. "The director does not have to indulge in a huge song and dance to direct a script. He does not have to stand behind the stage and peep through the curtains to let everyone know and say "look how good I am." A Director for the first time stood behind the stage and was not visible at all. It was very powerful statement. A Director needs to be either totally committed or totally insane to be someone like that and Mr. Satyadeb Dubey was both," he said.
Nasseruddin Shah's interest in theatre started when he perchanced upon Geoffrey Kendall's theatre group while still in school. "There was a workshop organised by Kendell which blew my mind away; there were a number of well- known and distinguished actors like Vijay Tendulkar who participated but two gentlemen got my attention. Mr. Dubey and Mr. Girish Karnad. They stood at the sidelines and smoked incessantly. I couldn't wait to grow up and stand in the sides and smoke like them," Jokes Shah. Mr. Dubey is one of the few people who influenced Shah's interests in theatre. Shah's first break in the movies came when Shyam Benegal was looking for a lead actor for his film 'Nishaant'. "Shyam was looking for an actor who was skilled but not handsome, so I suggested Nasseruddin," laughs Karnad. Shyam Benegal then offered him a role in his upcoming film Nishaant. He was so impressed with Nasseruddin Shah that Benegal starred him in most of his succeeding films. It's been a long road from Aligarh a small town Nasseruddin grew up in, to now. "I was blown away by theatre because of its visual impact; when I was young. Two plays by Dubey came to town, one of which was 'Evam Indrajit'. I thought this was the ultimate as far as theatre is concerned. I had never seen acting of this level in my life." Working with people like Girish Karnad and Satyadeb Dubey has taught Shah a lot in theatre. Theatre initially was a concept which was flamboyant and the director was the king. Now, it was for the first time that Shah realized the subtleties of what makes a good director. "The director does not have to indulge in a huge song and dance to direct a script. He does not have to stand behind the stage and peep through the curtains to let everyone know and say "look how good I am." A Director for the first time stood behind the stage and was not visible at all. It was very powerful statement. A Director needs to be either totally committed or totally insane to be someone like that and Mr. Satyadeb Dubey was both," he said.
(Shah was in town recently for the launch of Girish Karnad's Book Yayati and to participate in the RangaShankara Festival. He is acting in the play Antigone directed by Satyadeb Dubey and staged at RangaShankara on October, 28. Antigone will be staged again in December)
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