Naseeruddin Shah Movies
Though widely regarded as an icon of New Indian Cinema (i.e., Indian arthouse films, to be distinguished from populist Bollywood efforts), distinct performer Naseeruddin Shah unveiled a remarkable ability, like fellow countryman Amitabh Bachchan, to segue between elegant arthouse fare and more explicitly commercial fare with little effort. Born in 1950, Shah received his formal educational training at the National School of Drama in Delhi, then moved into acting work; he was discovered by director Shyam Benegal and came to specialize in understated on-screen gestures and emotional states that helped him go hand in glove with equally subtle, intelligent directors including not only Benegal (Manthan and Bhumika, 1976), but Saeed Mirza (Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai, 1980),Sai Paranjpye (Sparsh, 1979), and Mrinal Sen (Khandar, 1984). In time, Shah expanded his repertoire to occasionally include colorful Hollywood projects such as Monsoon Wedding (2001) and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) (as a grizzled, retired old Captain Nemo, opposite Sean Connery and others). Nevertheless, he spent most of his screen time in Indian productions. In 2007, Shah gained increased crossover attention with a rare lead, as a Muslim-raised member of Scotland Yard investigating a terrorist incident in the Indian-produced thriller Shoot on Sight. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
During one of the many violent uprisings against the English colonial overlords in India, a church filled with people is massacred. The only people to survive are three generations of women in one family, hidden by a friendly Indian. They are then kidnapped by a Muslim (Sashi Kapoor), who wants to keep the youngest woman as his second wife, despite the objections of his first wife who despises the women for their Englishness. Also, the girl he is enamored of finds him frightening. He goes off to join the fighting and eventually comes back to a much-changed situation. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shashi Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, (more)
- 1979
When the blind principal of a school for blind adolescents meets up with a young widow, there is an attraction that leads to an affair. Both this intense relationship, and a secondary relationship between a young blind boy and his seeing friend explore the world of the sightless and its context, the world around them that they can never see. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Naseeruddin Shah, Shabana Azmi, (more)
- 1977
In this melodrama, the life of a beautiful Indian starlet is unfolded, beginning with her disastrous first movie audition when she attempts to sing for her listeners. Forced into show business by her family, who hoped to use her beauty to support themselves, little about her life, even its successes, brings her much joy. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Smita Patil, Anant Nag, (more)
- 1976
A great deal of government central planning still goes on in India, and it was a key feature of Indian life in the '60s and '70s. In this story, a young and high-principled engineer and a construction crew have been sent to a remote rural town to organize and build a milk co-op. The conservative townspeople, especially those of the untouchable caste who have the most to gain, resist progress. The engineer makes a few allies on the local scene but is ultimately driven away when the forces of conservatism and corruption join together. Still, he has inspired a few people, and there is a chance that the co-op will be built after all. One highlight of this film is the precise and highly observant way that it depicts small local and human idiosyncrasies.. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Girish Karnad, Smita Patil, (more)
- 1975
In India in 1945, at the time of independence, there were many isolated semi-autonomous states, which had their own laws. In this movie, a man whose wife is abducted by the rulers of such a region seeks to have the men prosecuted for their crime, but no one will help him. Meanwhile, the wife, abused and berated by her abductors, cannot bring herself to face her husband and finally submits to one of her captors. Eventually, the aggrieved husband is able to rouse the local populace and priesthood to enact a bloody revenge on these oppressors. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Girish Karnad, Shabana Azmi, (more)
