When it was ‘harrowing’ for Naseeruddin Shah to dance alongside Mithun Chakraborty: ‘First time I became aware of split personality’

‘It was the first time I became aware of a split personality’

In the interview with Huffpost in 2020, Naseeruddin Shah recalled the tough time he had picking on those dance moves. “I never felt at home! It was the first time I became aware of a split personality,” said Shah, adding, “I never felt that way while on the sets of a film with 50 dancers and 500 extras and everybody tittering when you do a step wrong.”

The actor recalled “frantically rehearsing” the dance moves, even before Mithun Chakraborty entered the set, when he tripped and fell. A background dancer came up to him and said, “Poor boy! This is your first film, isn’t it?” Shah apologized to her and others for holding them up, but she encouraged him to try again. “She was sweet, yeah, but it sank my spirits further,” said Shah.

Yogeeta Bali, Naseeruddin Shah and Mithun Chakraborty in Khwab. (Express archive photo)

Khwab was definitely not Naseeruddin Shah’s first film. He’d already registered his presence with Shyam Benegal’s movies like his debut film Nishant (1975), Manthan (1976), Bhumika (1977), and Junoon (1979). “I’d usually be on a shoot with Shyam, Ketan (Mehta), Vidhu (Vinod Chopra), Saeed (Mirza), and Kundan (Shah). We were all friends and it was always a relaxed atmosphere in which we shot those films. I had not been with all of these mainstream guys,” confessed Shah.

The actor revealed that he shot for another one of his seminal films, Sai Paranjpye’s Sparsh (1980) right after filming for Khwab. “In fact the money I made from Khwab helped me buy a car. So I drove to Delhi in that car and did Sparsh. The learning here really was the fact that an actor’s abilities are just not enough. It’s ironic that an actor depends on so many inputs from others. This was the bingo moment for me,” argued Shah.

Also Read — Naseeruddin Shah writes on Diljit Dosanjh controversy: I feel no need to prove anything, including my patriotism

Naseeruddin Shah used the same argument to defend his varying performances in Shekhar Kapur’s 1983 cult relationship drama Masoom and Eshmayeel Shroff’s 1982 romantic drama Dil… Akhir Dil Hai, which he shot for at the same time as well. “I was playing the romantic lead in front of the gorgeous Rakhee and Parveen Babi. I sang songs and was in bed with both of these lovely ladies. I shot half of Dil… Akhir Dil Hai, went to Delhi and shot Masoom, came back and finished the former. It was a continuous journey. And yet you can see the difference in the quality of performance. I look like an absolute novice! Like a guy who does not know the first thing about acting in Dil… Akhir Dil Hai,” said Shah.

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