Naseeruddin Shah Movies

Swindlers Khalujan (Naseeruddin Shah) and Babban (Arshad Warsi) are fleeing the wrath of their powerful boss Mushtaq (Salman Shahid) when they seek shelter in the home of an old friend, and both fall in love with his pretty widow Krishna (Vidya Balan). As Khalu dreams of a romantic future with Krishna, Babban find himself slowly consumed by his growing lust for her. Their hope for making a clean getaway fading fast, Khalujan and Babban discover that the greatest betrayal is yet to come. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A simple man learns he might be better off dead, at least financially, in this satiric comedy from Indian filmmaker Anusha Rizvi. Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav) are two brothers who run a family farm in Peepli, a small town in India. Business has been bad on the farm, and the brothers are unable to repay a government loan, with a default judgment due any day. When the brothers call on a local politician to ask if anything can be done while they wait for a judge's ruling on their case, he facetiously suggests that one of them could commit suicide, since the government would pay benefits to the surviving family members. Natha doesn't realize the official is joking and volunteers to kill himself, while a television reporter overhears the conversation and immediately puts the story on the air. Soon a handful of newsmen have shown up at Natha's house, waiting to find out if the farmer will indeed kill himself, and before long it seems as if most of the nation is watching, with everyone sharing their opinions on Natha and his dilemma. The story is a boon to the news media but bad for the local politicians, who are standing for re-election that day as folks stay away from the polls to follow Natha's story. As everyone from Natha's son to the proverbial man on the street weighs in on what he should do, the farmer wonders if suicide really is the last, best way he can help his loved ones. Peepli Live received its North American premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Socially conscious actress Nandita Das makes her feature directorial debut with this sincere study of the ongoing conflict between Hindus and Muslims in India. The setting is the state of Gujarat in the year 2002: 3000 Muslims have perished in communal riots, and two lone men are charged with the task of digging mass graves for the unfortunate victims of violence. Hanif and Muneera have just returned to their home to find it completely ransacked, but the vandalism doesn't enrage the couple nearly as much as the fact that they were bitterly betrayed by the neighbors they had thought to be friends. Meanwhile, as Hanif begins plotting his revenge, middle-class Hindus Sanjay and Arati find themselves facing an unfamiliar set of moral challenges when tranquil Muslim musician Khan Saheb (Naseeruddin Shah) attempts to keep the peace while living in a Hindu neighborhood. As the tensions between Khan and his neighbors heats up, intermarried Hindu-Muslim couple Anu and Sameer are forced to finally acknowledge the tensions that they have struggled to sweep under the rug for so many years. Over the course of the next twenty-four hours, the lives of each of these people will intersect as everyone attempts to pick up the pieces of a broken society and a young boy named Mohsin departs from his refugee camp in search of a brighter future elsewhere. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A man is torn between his faith, his family, and his profession in this taut thriller. Tariq Ali (Naseeruddin Shah) was born in Pakistan and raised in a Muslim household by parents who later emigrated to London, but he's been willing to set a certain amount of his cultural identity aside in order to advance his career in law enforcement. Tariq is married to Susan (Greta Scacchi), who is both British and Christian, and they're raising two children, Zara (India Wadsworth) and Imran (Arrun Harker). Tariq's intelligence and professionalism have helped him become a top detective at Scotland Yard, but when a suspected Muslim terrorist is shot and killed by police, Tariq is assigned to investigate in hopes of defusing public anger over the incident. As Tariq looks into the victim's background as well as the actions of the police, the media uncovers evidence of Tariq's friendship with Junaid (Om Puri), an outspoken Islamic leader who is believed to be linked to several terrorist groups. Shoot on Sight also stars Brian Cox, Sadie Frost, and Laila Rouass. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

When a destitute New Delhi rickshaw driver generously allows his eccentric passenger to dodge his fare, the generous act sends his fate careening in a wholly unanticipated direction in first time filmmaker Richie Mehta's heartfelt portrait of early-21st Century India. Amal (Rupinder Nagra) drives a motorized rickshaw on the crowded streets of New Delhi. One day, while spiriting a beautiful fare to her destination, the passenger's purse is snatched by a pint-sized cutpurse. Determined to rescue the woman's valuables, Amal gives chase to the little girl, who is stricken by a car after ducking into traffic. While Amal dutifully rushes the girl to the hospital and agrees to pay her medical bills, he realizes that he cannot afford the expense. But there is hope for both Amal and the injured young thief, because the fare that the rickshaw driver allowed to walk free was in fact an eccentric millionaire named G.K. Jayaram (Naseeruddin Shah). At the time Amal picked G.K. up, the ageing family patriarch was growing increasingly perturbed with his grasping children - all of whom seemed to hear a cash register ringing when their father fell ill. In one final act of anonymous generosity, G.K. bestowed Amal his entire fortune. But the executor of G.K.'s estate has only thirty days to find one common rickshaw driver in a bustling city of 14 million, otherwise the money reverts back to the millionaire's rightful family. While it's plain to see who would benefit from the money the most, the prospect of the estate executer actually locating Amal is growing slimmer with each passing day and G.K.'s greedy family is willing to get downright vicious in order to claim the inheritance as their own. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

William Shakespeare's 17th century tragedy is adapted for the screen by one of Bollywood's most promising filmmakers in this effort that traces one man's unrelenting jealousy and all-consuming obsession against the backdrop of political warfare in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh. A charismatic chieftain who serves as leader to a notorious gang of outlaws, Omkara (aka Omi) is constantly flanked by his right-hand man Kesu and the devoted Langda Tyagi. Upon appointing Kesu as his chief lieutenant, Langda's pride is damaged so deeply that he sets into motion a devious plan designed to convince Omi that his beautiful wife Dolly is having an illicit affair with his newly appointed strong-arm, Kesu. As the deception drives the increasingly fragile Omi to the breaking point, the resulting chaos sets Omi's once-secure world aflame and threatens to lead to tragedy for all involved. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Acclaimed Bollywood choreographer Farah Khan (Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge, Monsoon Wedding) makes her directorial debut with Main Hoon Na, a mix of action, comedy, and romance. Shah Rukh Khan (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham...) stars as Ram, a straight-laced action hero and major in the Indian army. When General Bakshi (Kabir Bedi) proposes a plan to release 50 harmless Pakistani POWs as a gesture of goodwill, he draws the ire of terrorist Raghavan (Sunil Shetty), a former army officer with a deep-seated hatred of the Pakistanis. Raghavan and his well-trained crew invade a television studio where the general is being interviewed, despite the efforts of Ram's father, Shekhar (Naseeruddin Shah of Monsoon Wedding), who is Bakshi's head of security. Ram intercedes and nearly captures the masked terrorist, but Shekhar is killed trying to protect Bakshi. With his dying words, he tells Ram his shameful secret. Shekhar was never married to Ram's late mother. Shekhar's wife and son left him when Ram, his illegitimate son, came to live in their home. Shekhar's dying wish is to have their forgiveness. Ram gets an opportunity to look for his long-lost stepbrother when General Bakshi assigns him to guard his estranged daughter, Sanjana (Amrita Rao), who goes to the same college as Ram's stepbrother. In order to stay close to Sanjana, Ram has to pose as a student. Being much older and far more conservative than most of the students, Ram immediately stands out, and is mercilessly mocked by the coolest guy on campus, Lucky (Zayed Khan). Sanjana wants nothing to do with him, making his job difficult. Things become more complicated when Ram learns the identity of his stepbrother, and finds himself falling for his sexy chemistry teacher, Chandni (Sushmita Sen). ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

This Hindi language drama tells the story of three prison inmates who are all awaiting execution. Each confined by three walls and a row of bars, a lawyer, a simpleton, and a con-man all bide their time until their lives end, until they are visited by Chandrika, a woman who has fled an abusive husband, and is filming a documentary about the death row inmates. As Chandrika forms a kind of friendship with each of the men, the future begins to look different, even for those whose futures seemed to be set in stone. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

Following up on her controversial erotic drama Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love, Mira Nair directs this charming family drama about a very chaotic Indian wedding. Lalit Verma (Naseeruddin Shah) is a wealthy father who is trying to see that his daughter Aditi's wedding goes off without a hitch. Though familiar with Western ways, he has little patience with them and is dead set on seeing the nuptials done properly and traditionally. Disillusioned with her long time relationship with Vikram -- a man who is almost twice her age -- Aditi (Vasundhara Das) suddenly agrees to submit to an arranged marriage with Hemant, an engineer from Houston. Yet as the ceremony nears, she gets cold feet and returns to see her former lover -- even though it could spell disaster for everyone involved. Meanwhile, Aditi's comely 17-year-old cousin Ayesha is coming to terms with her blossoming sexuality and has her sights set on Rahul, another relative who is a college student in Australia. Then there is Rai -- also Aditi's cousin -- who has a shocking revelation to make. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto and Venice Film Festivals. At Venice, Monsoon Wedding won the prestigious Golden Lion award. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This ambitious and symbolic musical drama follows the eternal spirit of women as they inspire and confound men throughout the ages. As Science (Ashish Vidyarthi) and Art (Mohan Aghashe) debate who truly holds sway over the Universe, they ponder the story of Gaja Gamini (Madhuri Dixit), a mysterious and beautiful woman who, in her various incarnations over the ages, poses for Leonardo Da Vinci (Naseeruddin Shah) as he paints the Mona Lisa, acts as muse for Kalidas as he writes his poem Shakuntala, inspires a group of women to speak against their role as second-class citizens, and becomes a subject for a modern-day photographer (Shah Rukh). Gaja Gamini was the first feature film directed by well-respected Indian artist Maqbool Fida Husain, who also served as screenwriter, editor, and production designer for the project -- all at the age of 85! ~ Mark Deming, Rovi