Meena Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; February 10, 2017)

Naseeruddin Shah’s name still adds a certain gravitas and even excitement to a film; though his roster recently has more misses than hits. On the eve of the release of an upcoming social thriller, the veteran actor, known for his candour, admits to his follies, opens up about his late friend and reveals why he wants to give Shaad Ali a hug.

Irada releases a week from now, any thoughts on it?
I’m anxious because I will be held responsible for the quality of the film. It’s a grim thriller and hopefully will be accepted like A Wednesday. It has a couple of good twists and a socially relevant subject, talking about the poisoning of the soil and water by chemical industries and how it even affects the common man who drinks a glass of the contaminated water.

You once famously said that films are not arty or commercial but good or bad. Knowing this, how do you justify your mediocre choices?
Over the last few years, my output has not been outstanding, only Waiting turned out well. Some of the films I did for obvious reasons but it’s become embarrassing. Take Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, which I did out of a sense of loyalty to a couple of my students who claimed they did not have any money. I agreed to a two-day appearance which stretched to five days and ultimately I ended up as the villain which I was not supposed to be in the first place. It was a dreadfully embarrassing movie which I couldn’t sit through myself. One review even said, ‘Naseeruddin Shah has now become the Messiah of mediocre cinema.’

It’s good that you can laugh about this?
Yes, of course. I did good films like Dedh Ishqiya which didn’t fare well and ghastly ones like Jackpot which deserved to flop. There were films like Dirty Politics, Bolo Raam and some whose titles I don’t remember which I did for various reasons. A couple were made by cash-strapped friends who needed a name to sell their projects. After 40 years of doing cinema, this is not a good enough reason for shoddy work.

So you agree you should be more discerning?
Yes, but there’s no way you can tell whether a movie will turn out to be good or bad. I had never heard of Neeraj Pandey before I did A Wednesday yet it’s one of my most memorable films. Ditto Shoaib Mansoor of Pakistan but again Khuda Kay Liye turned out good. Who was Shekhar Kapur before he made Masoom? It’s the roll of the dice. I am not embarrassed to admit that I’ve done a lot of movies for money. That is what we all work for. But there have also been cases where the money does not matter. Irada is one such film I’ve done because I believed in it.

But money is important to you?
I seriously suspect money can buy happiness but I’ve been a happier person since I started earning enough than when I was broke. I appreciate money and I work for it. I don’t expect something for nothing which is why I do not gamble. Money doesn’t solve every problem but it makes life easier and it’s better to have money than not have it.

Is there something like a typical day in your life?
No, there isn’t. Sometimes I wake at the crack of dawn, sometimes not until noon. It depends on bodily fluids and what I have lined up. I haven’t green-lit too many films and ideally I like to start my day with a game of tennis. Till a couple of years ago I was a cricket addict, now it’s tennis. I’ve been forbidden to play cricket and ride horses. I cannot even exercise because my back has given way.

Do you advice your children on the kind of work they should undertake?
You cannot influence or control your children’s lives. Parents overrate their influence. My parents had no control over me though they tried everything. I know better than to try to live my children’s lives for them. My only prayer for Imaad, Heeba and Vivaan is that they are happy and successful in whatever they do.

With Om Puri gone, you seem to be the only custodian of a certain kind of cinema…
Yes, I’m the sole survivor. Om is gone, Farooq (Shaikh) is gone, Amrish (Puri) is gone… It feels strange. I’m angry with Om, deeply grieved that he didn’t look after himself. He had no right to mistreat himself. But on second thoughts, who knows what he went through?

You couldn’t sit through OK! Jaanu because you were deeply disturbed by Om’s death, right?
Shaad Ali invited me to a preview a couple of days after Om passed away. I was deeply disturbed and left shortly after the film began. I’ve heard disappointing reports. I thought Mani Ratnam’s film was enjoyable and at a loss to explain what went wrong with the Hindi version. Shaad is sincere and worked hard, as did everyone else. I want to give him a hug because he must be feeling low. No one should feel like s**t after they’ve worked hard on something. He is a lovely chap! As that book on screenplay writing says at the end, no one knows a damn how things will work out as far as a film goes. After writing 400 pages on how to work on a winning screenplay, the last sentence is — no one knows a damn! That’s what filmmaking is all about.

The new releases all fared poorly with even last weeks flop MAIN AUR CHARLES managing to record better collections than all the new releases despite being in its second weekend. The weekend collections of the new releases are as follows.
Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein - 60,00,000
Four Pillars Of Basement - 10,00,000
Ranbanka - 25,00,000
Yaara Silly Silly - 35,00,000

The collections of the holdover releases are as follows.
Main Aur Charles - 75,00,000 (second weekend)
Titli - 25,00,000 (second weekend)
Talvar - 15,00,000 (sixth weekend)

Naseeruddin Shah on being trolled for his pro-Pak stance, the 'award vapsi' trend and why, at times, he prefers working with newcomers over former colleagues
Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 6, 2015)


Last month, Naseeruddin Shah made headlines with his candid take on Indo-Pak relations at the controversial launch of former Pakistani foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri's new book, Neither a Hawk Nor a Dove: An Insider's Account of Pakistan's Foreign Policy. "I've been to Pakistan to perform and none of my shows were ever cancelled or disrupted. I wish we could have extended a similar courtesy to Kasuri sahab," he had said.

His comments caused a furore online and the 66-year-old actor was described as "biased" and branded a "Pakistani". When asked what it felt to be trolled for his pro-Pak remarks, Naseer points out that he was targeted only because he is a Muslim. "It really pains me but I had never been so conscious of my religious identity until now. Four generations of my family have lived in India. I am a proud Indian and won't allow anyone to question my patriotism. If I say Imran Khan (cricketer) is great, does that make Sunil Gavaskar any less a cricketer?" he reasons.

One of the most decorated actors of his time - he's won the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, and three National Awards (for Sparsh, Paar and Iqbal) - Naseer reveals that he doesn't understand the concept of returning awards. He doesn't approve of writers returning their awards in protest against the Dadri lynching and murders of eminent rationalists. "I wish they would assume a stronger tone in their writing instead of returning their awards. Awards mean nothing to me so I won't bother returning them," he explains.

Naseer will next be seen in Manish Srivastava's Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, a thriller in which he plays a cop trying to decipher a rare case of multiple homicides. He is quick to explain that 'Charlie' in the title refers to a popular form of cocaine, and while he has experimented with a lot of things, he wouldn't recommend it to anyone. "But I also think there's a 'demonisation' of the phenomenon," he says.

Quiz him about his actor-musician son Imaad, who is known to be a party animal and he reasons, "The youth have always lived life on their own terms, experimenting with things regardless of parental policing. I always did what I wanted to despite my strict father. Luckily, I acquired a sense of wrong and right with time and experience. I have great faith in today's youngsters; they're far more evolved than my generation was."

The actor, who featured in Abhishek Chaubey's Ishqiya and Dedh Ishqiya, denies signing any more sequels, including Anees Bazmee's follow-up to Welcome Back. He is keener to work with younger directors. "Each experiment has its pitfalls though. Still, working with former colleagues isn't always a great idea, working with fresh talent, generally is," he says.

This approach may have something to do with the fact that the veteran, who admits to not being a fan of Hindi films, loved two recent directorial debuts - Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan and Chaitanya Tamhane's Court, which is India's official entry to the Oscars 2016.

His own directorial debut, Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota, (2006) sank without a trace. Does he intend to return to filmmaking anytime soon? "That film is a blot on my cinematic record and I have to set it right. But I really don't know how to do that," he sighs.

Wouldn't it be great to document everything that he has learnt from professional misfires and personal experiences in a biopic? "I want Shekhar Kapur to direct a biopic on my life, but he probably won't be interested," Naseer laughs.

THE STAGE IS SET FOR THE BIG DIWALI RELEASE!

By next Thursday, the big Diwali release Prem Ratan Dhan Payo will be out all over. It stars Salman Khan and Sonam Kapoor and is directed by Sooraj Barjatya, who returns to direction after almost 9 years (his last outing was Vivah). Salman and Sooraj go back a long way. Salman’s first big hit was Maine Pyar Kiya that was directed by Sooraj. After that, both teamed together for Hum Aapke Hai Koun, a film that became a landmark film of Indian Cinema! Their third film together was Hum Saath Saath Hain, a fine film but didn’t get the due maybe. Salman himself says that Hum Saath Saath Hain was better than Hum Aapke Hai Koun! Sooraj then made Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon where he tried to appear ‘cool’. But it backfired and then he made Vivah, wherein he went back to making clean, family entertainers. And it worked big time! Prem Ratan Dhan Payo is also in the same zone and looks great from the trailers and songs. If the film clicks, it can work BIG time as it has a rooted appeal and hence can succeed pan India.

Meanwhile, the next 7 days will be bad for box office as the Diwali preparations will be on in full swing. Hence, many avoid watching films in this period. Some half a dozen films are releasing tomorrow – Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, Four Pillars Of Basement, Ranbanka, Yaara Silly Silly and Run Bhuumi. Sadly, none of them will click. 5-6 films releasing together is suicidal but this trend never changes and one just wonders why!

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; October 29, 2015)

Makers of an upcoming Naseeruddin Shah-starrer, Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, have decided to approach the Censor Board’s revising panel for certification after the examining committee asked for quite a few words to be muted, including a reference to social activist Anna Hazare.

“We had sought an ‘A’ certificate as the film deals with drug abuse and homicide among other issues. However, the five-member panel, which watched the final cut, objected to a passing mention of Anna Hazare even though his name hasn’t been used in an offensive way. The dialogue goes like this: ‘Tumko kya zaroorat thi itna sach bolne ki? Kya Anna Hazare ne tumko kaha tha yeh kaam karke aao?’ They don’t understand that we are not insulting him,” says producer Karan Arora.

This apart, the Board has asked the makers to mute nearly a dozen cuss words as well as a scene in which a girl snorts drugs. “If we are getting an adult tag, there shouldn’t be any problem with the usage of commonly used cuss words like saala and chu** ya. If I remove those or Anna Hazare’s name, the essence of the scene will be lost. Moreover, they didn’t have any objection to a scene showing a group of boys sniffing narcotics, but want us to delete the portion showing a girl taking drugs,” adds Arora.

The makers, however, are ready with the edited version since the film is slated to release next week. “If I want to release my film on time, I need to get the certificate three days in advance. We will have to attach it and send copies to various centres. Practically, I have only six days to release it. We will approach the revising committee, but are prepared for the worst,” he says.

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 25, 2015)

Victoria's Secret supermodel and two-time Kingfisher Calendar girl, Elena Roxana Fernandes, will make her Bollywood debut with a sizzling special appearance in Karan Arora's thriller Charlie Kay Chakkar Mein, which has been directed by Manish Srivastav.

The London-based model recently shot for a James Bond-style title sequence, choreographed by Stanley D'Costa, over three days.

"It's a track that introduces the film with action-styled dance moves, much like 007's women, who dance to Adele's voice," Elena told Mirror. Sung by Neisha Mascarenhas and composed by Rohit Kulkarni, the song introduces 'Charlie' who is not a character in the film but refers to the popular drug, cocaine.

The actress points out that many international models like Katrina Kaif and Jacqueline Fernandez, have come to India to become an actress and she's aiming for the same. "It's a natural transition from modelling to acting and this peppy number came as a pleasant surprise at the right time. It's a stroke of good luck," she adds.

But it was not her co-star Naseeruddin Shah's presence on the sets that excited her. It was in fact a stray cat, now called Sydney, who brightened her day. Elena even took the cat back home. "I met Sydney on the streets and he has now joined my family in Central London. He is my first gift from India," laughs Elena, whose father is from Goa and mother from South America.

The actress is currently taking Hindi-speaking classes and since her first visit to Mumbai, three and a half years ago, the cat lover has flown back two more kittens to keep Sydney company, taking her total pet count to 14. "I'm optimistic about a film career and obsessed with animals. There's always an 'animal rights activist' tag attached to whatever I do," she laughs.