Happy birthday to Naseeruddin Shah.

Happy birthday to Naseeruddin Shah.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Naseeruddin Shah on 20th July, 2010. Along with Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi, Nasir was the leading actor who had shaped parallel cinema in India. He became the leading actor of art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini, Sudhir Mishra, Mrinal Sen and others. He was sublime in films like Aakrosh, Sparsh, Khandahaar, etc.

Viewers cannot forget his realistic acting in Goutam Ghosh’s film Paar. He was unparallel in the scene where he along with Shabana Azmi, took the herd of animals across river Ganges for their livelihood. Their standard of acting was extraordinary. He was equally brilliant in a sensitive role in Shekhar Kapoor’ s film Masoom. His son Jugal Hansraj was not accepted by Shabana Azmi, as he was her step son, but at the end of the film Nasir convinced Shabana about accepting the child. The songs in the film like “huzoor is kadar bhi na itra ke chaliye” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar and composed by RD Burman became extremely popular in the early 80s.

In the late 80s, Nasir got influenced by veteran actor Amrish Puri and joined mainstream cinema. There also he became a grand winner. He gave fabulous performance in the film Tridev along with Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, and also Vishwaatma wit Sunny Deol and Chunkey Pandey. His action skills, comedy skills all were utilized by the commercial directors and became an indispensable figure in the early 90s.

Even as villain he astonished the viewers in films like Mohra. He did outcast the heroes in the film like Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar and ended up being the main actor in the feeling. Nasir could play any type of role and in the long run no other actor other than Om Puri could match Nasiruddin Shah’s versatility. In China Gate, both of them faced each other and the viewers enjoyed the dynamic performances of the two legends. Even in films like Monsoon Wedding, Nasir showed that his skill in realistic acting just had got enhanced day after day.

In 2008, he performed perhaps the best film of the year, A Wednesday. He killed the terrorists as an ordinary citizen, to end the threat they had created over a period of time.

In 2010, his performance in the film Ishqiya opposite Vidya Balan and Arshad Warsi had been highly appreciated by the critics. The film did good business as well. Even his performance in Prakash Jha’s film Rajneeti impressed the masses. Rajneeti ended up being a blockbuster. The viewers expect the legendary actor to continue his dynamic performance as he is still irreplaceable in bollywood films.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

Happy birthday to Shabana Azmi.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Shabana Azmi on 18th September, 2009. She had remained an institution by herself. She had been considered to be the greatest performer in bollywood films along with Smita Patil, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri.

She started her journey with Shyam Benegal’s film Ankur in 1974. With her debut, the trend of parallel cinema began in bollywood. She concentrated on the inner emotions of the characters that were played. She was unparallel in the role of a step mother in Shekhar Kapoor’s film Masoom. Her performance was as brilliant as the performance of Naseer in the film.

In Goutam Ghosh’s film Paar, she showed the life of daily wage earner in Kolkata along with Naseeruddin Shah. The scene where Shabana Azmi swam across the Ganges near Bandha Ghat along with a pack of animals which were supposed to be reached the respective destination, body language, physical effort, expressions all get mixed into one.

She was as powerful as Smita Patil in the film Arth. She also played an important role in Oscar Winning Director Satyajit Ray’s film Shatranj Ki Khiladi. The other notable films which ended up being masterpieces include Khandahaar, Dharavi, Sparsh, etc.

Shabana Axmi was equally successful in commercial films. She played a prominent part in hit film Parvarish along with Vinod Khanna and Big B. Her performance in the film Amar Akbar Anthony opposite Vinod Khanna was appreciated by the commercial crowds. She even did a great job in a negative role in the film Godmother.

Her performance opposite Big B in the film Mai Azaad Hoon, in the role of a journalist requires special mention. She had created a benchmark which had been followed by actresses of the present era including Dimple Kapadia and Tabu. The viewers expect her to continue the high standard of work in the years to come.

Happy birthday to Nasiruddin Shah.

Happy birthday to Nasiruddin Shah.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to Nasiruddin Shah on 20th July, 2009. Along with Om Puri, Smita Patil and Shabana Azmi, Nasir was the leading actor who had shaped parallel cinema in India. He became the leading actor of art films directed by Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalini, Sudhir Mishra, Mrinal Sen and others. He was sublime in films like Aakrosh, Sparsh, Khandahaar, etc.

Viewers cannot forget his realistic acting in Goutam Ghosh’s film Paar. He was unparallel in the scene where he along with Shabana Azmi, took the herd of animals across river Ganges for their livelihood. Their standard of acting was extraordinary. He was equally brilliant in a sensitive role in Shekhar Kapoor’ s film Masoom. His son Jugal Hansraj was not accepted by Shabana Azmi, as he was her step son, but at the end of the film Nasir convinced Shabana about accepting the child. The songs in the film like “huzoor is kadar bhi na itra ke chaliye” sung by Bhupinder Singh and Suresh Watkar and composed by RD Burman became extremely popular in the early 80s.

In the late 80s, Nasir got influenced by veteran actor Amrish Puri and joined mainstream cinema. There also he became a grand winner. He gave fabulous performance in the film Tridev along with Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, and also Vishwaatma wit Sunny Deol and Chunkey Pandey. His action skills, comedy skills all were utilized by the commercial directors and became an indispensable figure in the early 90s.

Even as villain he astonished the viewers in films like Mohra. He did outcast the heroes in the film like Sunil Shetty and Akshay Kumar and ended up being the main actor in the feeling. Nasir could play any type of role and in the long run no other actor other than Om Puri could match Nasiruddin Shah’s versatility. In China Gate, both of them faced each other and the viewers enjoyed the dynamic performances of the two legends. Even in films like Monsoon Wedding, Nasir showed that his skill in realistic acting just had got enhanced day after day.

In 2008, he performed perhaps the best film of the year, A Wednesday. He killed the terrorists as an ordinary citizen, to end the threat they had created over a period of time. The viewers expect the legendary actor to continue his dynamic performance as he is still irreplaceable in bollywood films.

Smita Patil – the realistic actress of bollywood.

Smita Patil – the realistic actress of bollywood.

Smita Patil is the realistic actress that bollywood had ever produced. She destroyed the myth that actresses require mannerisms to attract the attention of the viewers. The characters that she had played over the years had become immortal by her powerful performance. She stormed the silver screen with her serene performance in Shyam Benegal’s film Manthan, where the miseries of the life of workers involved in milk production in western India was depicted.

Within short period of time she became the main actress of all directors who made realistic films. In Satyajit Ray’s Satgati, she played the role of the wife of Om Puri, who cremated dead bodies by profession. Being a member of lower caste he was exploited by the zamindar of the village played by Mohan Agase. Smita Patil was the silent observer who witnessed the oppression which led to ultimately the death of Om Puri. Prem Chand’s immortal story was elegantly directed by Ray, one of the greatest directors of the world.


In Akrosh, directed by Govind Nihalini, she played the role of the wife of Om Puri, who was a worker in an industry in a village. The employers killed Smita Patil and falsely charged Om Puri for the murder. Nasiruddin Shah, played the role of the defense lawyer tried to save Om Puri, but Om Puri could not help him as his tongue was cut by the employers. The film depicted the oppression of the poor, uneducated rural population in the Indian villages, how the employers had succeeded in tampering evidence. Om Puri, Nasiruddin Shah, Smita Patil and Amrish Puri, were at their best in the film.


While performing in realistic films, Smita Patil also contributed in commercially successful films like Shakti, Namakhalal, etc. In Shakti, she was the wife of Big B, and the daughter-in –law of Dilip Kumar. She balanced the difference of opinions of big B and Dilip Kumar, as Dilip Kumar, was a dutiful police officer and ultimately had to shoot his son Big B as he was involved with unlawful activities. Rakhee also acted very well in the role of Dilip Kumar’s wife. Smita Patil again stormed the silver screen in the film Mirch Masala directed by Ketan Mehta, where she being a village woman was wanted by the subedar played by Nasiruddin Shah and had to take shelter in a factory which manufactured chillies. Om Puri, the old gate keeper, alone, fought against the forces and was killed. Then Smita Patil poured the chillies in the face of Nassiruddin Shah, showing the beginning of revolt in the village. She was even sublime in the film Akaler Sandhane directed by Mrinal Sen. Other than Shabana Azmi, no other actress had shown the depth of acting that Smita Patil had shown and that is evident when both of the them performed in the same film, for example Arth, directed by Mahesh Bhatt. Actresses of the present generation should learn a lot from the immortal performances of Smita Patil to show that acting is creative art, like other creative arts, including singing or painting.

By: CR Chatterji.