One of Bollywood’s living legends, Naseeruddin Shah‘s game-changing role in Nishant was not due to his good looks. In fact, his lack of good looks was what led to his being cast for the role by veteran director, Shyam Benegal.
Shah spoke to author, actor and former teacher Girish Karnad on the opening day of the Jaipur Literature Festival, at the ‘And Then One Day’ session.
Karnad was the director of Film and Television Institute of India in Pune when Nasser studied there and it was he who had suggested Shah’s name to Benegal.
“Due to my looks, I got films like Nishant. Of all my roles, that’s the one that’s closest to my heart. It’s the movie that gave me an identity and paved the way for my journey, that later gave me films like Manthan and Junoon,” said the 65-year-old actor.
The celebrated star went on to say that his looks were a blessing and a curse. He may have gained stardom because of it but he lost certain things as well.
“Sometimes, these looks worked in my favour but not always. Among other things, I also lost my girlfriend, who thought that I was not good-looking enough for Bollywood…. or her.”
Naseeruddin conveys no qualms in admitting that he was not a suitable face for Hindi films at a time when faces like Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra dominated the silver screen.
“I feel disappointed at times for not having excelled in commercial cinema but I have swallowed that like a pinch of salt now. I would not have enjoyed being a chocolate boy anyway.”
Even when the actor appeared on The Anupam Kher show, alongside Om Puri, he frankly said: “I knew I didn’t have the face of a film star.”
