Naseeruddin Shah delivers an all-time great performance in director Imtiaz Ali’s Main Vaapas Aaunga that makes the film an instant must-watch. In the film, he plays Ishar Singh Grewal, an old man suffering from dementia who pines for his longtime lover, whose relationship with him predates Partition. Unlike some of the other portrayals of dementia onscreen, such as Anthony Hopkins in The Father or Mohanlal in Thanmathra, Naseeruddin Shah in Main Vaapas Aaunga has the more challenging task of internalising the additional layer of a man with fragmented memories of his lover. He spends the entirety of the film either bedridden or confined to a room and constricted by limited mobility. Strip actors of movement, and many of them will struggle due to limitations in expressive acting. At the very least, the effort to emote will show on their faces. Naseeruddin Shah, meanwhile, thrives even in this space, summoning up profound emotions in Imtiaz Ali’s screenplay with such effortless ease that it is mesmerising. It is the sort of performance that leaves you spellbound—a tour de force delivered almost entirely from a bed.

And this is no exaggeration, by any means. Naseeruddin Shah in Main Vaapas Aaunga does not merely interpret Imtiaz Ali’s script; he breathes fierce, tragic life into a screenplay that explodes with emotional potency. How his eyes mirror the complications of Partition-era politics is the stuff of legend. The fear and apprehension flash by in his eyes and even his throat feels constricted with these feelings, mirroring the inferno as massive communal violence erupts during Partition. Matching the expressiveness in his eyes is the gravitas in his voice. You get gooseflesh when Ishar Singh Grewal says dialogues such as, “Aag jala di,” with his rich, resonant baritone voice. Few performances have felt this profound, poignant and palpable at once.

Naseeruddin Shah’s late-stage renaissance is an absolute delight to behold, something that longtime fans of the actor, who have been yearning for his return to peak form, relish. After Dedh Ishqiya (2014), he played several roles that did not live up to his stature, but now, he is well and truly back. In a way, the title of Imtiaz's film works as a meta reference to the actor’s own comeback. Amidst all the appreciation for Main Vaapas Aaunga, it is easy to forget the actor’s role as JRD Tata in the Amazon MX Player series Made In India: A Titan Story. Unlike the Partition-era film, the period drama sees Naseeruddin doing what the Genz would call ‘aura-farming’. JRD Tata is a man so powerful and charismatic that you can feel his presence the moment he walks into a room. Despite his limited screentime in the series, Naseeruddin leaves quite an impression as the head of the Tata Group. He sustains that larger-than-life aura throughout, whether it be when JRD swoops in by helicopter and addresses his conglomerate’s employees or as he leaves the room after delivering a pep talk to them. As with all great actors, you feel his presence when JRD is not around.

Unlike in Main Vaapas Aaunga, where he only gets to use his hands and face to communicate his character’s feelings, the actor has the liberty to use movement to his advantage in Made In India: A Titan Story. Each time Naseeruddin Shah’s character gives a few words of encouragement to his workforce at Tata or addresses them otherwise, you lean forward in your seat and virtually become a part of the audience. In both cases, he is that masterful orchestrator casting a spell on his audience and taking them along for the ride. From Made In India to Main Vaapas Aaunga, it is Naseeruddin Shah's world and we are living in it. This is what great actors do: they take you by the scruff of the neck and compel you to become an active participant in what they do. Naseeruddin has always had this versatility to explore diverse roles, from the magnetism of Masoom to the magic of Chamatkar and now the mesmeric Main Vaapas Aaunga.