Actor Naseeruddin Shah breaks it down

Star says ‘Waiting’ challenged him in a way commercial films do not

MUMBAI: Believing that the art of acting largely depends on the form for which it is required, Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah shared there is no such thing as overacting or underacting in cinema.

“Underplaying and overplaying are faulty kind of terms and when I’m working with younger actors I make it a point to emphasise that there is no such thing as that. There is truth and falseness,” said Shah. “If you say overacting, then Kathakali and Kabuki should be the worst forms of overacting but that’s not so.”



At the screening of his upcoming project Waiting, Shah was asked how he managed to underplay his character in the film. “It is the kind of acting that is required for a particular form. For Indian commercial cinema, a certain kind of acting is required, and for a film like Waiting, a different kind of acting was required.” While Shah is known for strong performances in content-oriented cinema, he has also acted in mainstream cinema and often played loud characters in films such as Tridev, The Dirty Picture and Welcome Back.

In Waiting though, Shah is playing a role he is known for — a calm and composed character despite the pain of waiting for his wife to come out of coma. He terms his character so well-written that he feels that the actor’s job is almost over with the writing alone. “I find myself much more comfortable in a subject like this, because I can’t over-act that well, while there are some who do it brilliantly,” he said.



Shah also urged viewers to support more films such as Waiting and look for more than entertainment in a film. Instead, according to him, the audience should look for something engrossing and stimulating. “This film has been made under really difficult and straitened circumstances. It is because of the backing of a courageous producer, and the vision of a director who desperately wanted to make it, that all of us got together and it’s been successful,” added Shah.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2016.

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