Naseeruddin Shah is known to have given some fine, nuanced performances in Indian cinema. Next, the veteran actor will be seen in Imtiaz Ali's upcoming film Main Vaapas Aaunga. At the trailer launch of the film held recently, Shah spoke about his film choices over the years and admitted that he too has delivered some bad performances and his sons—Vivaan and Imaad—often wake him up in the middle of the night to show them.
Stating that the credit for an actor's success goes to the writer and director, Shah said, "If the writing is not great, even the finest actor in the world cannot do anything."
"I have given some very bad performances in films; my sons wake me up at 3 am in the night to show me those films on YouTube. I would rather sleep," he added.
He also praised director Imtiaz Ali and said, “Imtiaz has written a brilliant film, the dialogues are amazing, situations are powerful. I have seen and loved his films in the past; he works with his actors with immense love and discipline. I have met very few directors who take retakes only because of an actor’s performance. Imtiaz is one of them."
During the discussion, Imtiaz also recalled his first meeting with the actor and said, “When I met him at his house first, I was told that he is a very serious actor. But when I met him, his entire focus was on why I didn’t have tea, if it was not made well. So, I understood that I didn’t need to take him very seriously; he is a normal guy. I was very fascinated and excited to see him in a turban, to play a Sikh gentleman. Everyone who has seen the film’s rough-cut loves him the most in the film."
Previously talking about how he chooses his projects, Shah had said that the reasons are myriad and admitted that he too sometimes has not been careful in making his choices. Back in 2013, during an interview with the Times of India, Shah had shared, “I accept only the roles I feel like doing. There can be various reasons to pick a role-it can be the content, the co-actors, the directors, or even the money-it can be anything. I am not too careful while choosing my projects, and that is why I have made so many mistakes in my career."
Along with Shah, Main Vaapas Aaunga also stars Vedang Raina, Sharvari and Diljit Dosanjh. The film is scheduled to release on June 12.
