Showing posts with label Mohommed Ali Shah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mohommed Ali Shah. Show all posts
Army Day special: Soldiers insist they want to see 'less jingoism, song & dance; more authenticity & originality' in war films
8:13 AM
Niharika Lal (BOMBAY TIMES; January 15, 2022)
While the Army has featured as a character – central, as well as peripheral – in several Bollywood movies, few have gotten the nuances of military life right or managed to nail the details related to Army personnel and the war zone down to the T. On Army Day, we spoke to some serving and retired Army personnel on how they think Bollywood movies captured their lives and battles, including all the things they got right – and wrong – on screen.
‘HAQEEQAT, LOC: KARGIL, SHERSHAAH ARE AMONG THE MOST REALISTIC FILMS’
What is surprising is that over a dozen officers (retired and those still serving) – when asked about their favourite Army films – could only think of two-three names that did justice to the Forces. Among these was Chetan Anand’s Haqeeqat (1964), starring Dharmendra and Farhan Akhtar’s Lakshya (2004) starring Hrithik Roshan – both of which featured a realistic portrayal of soldiers’ lives.
Major (retd) Sandeep Sangwan, who is also a defence consultant for the upcoming film Pippa, starring Ishaan Khatter and based on the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971, says, “If one were to judge a film on the parameters of weapons, equipment, uniform and the movement of the troops, then Border, LOC: Kargil, Lakshya, Uri: The Surgical Strike, and Shershaah score the highest.”
Major Mohommed Ali Shah, a former Army officer, who has acted in several films and web series, says, “Films that I feel were quite close in their depiction of the life of soldiers are Lakshya and Uri — if we don’t count the drone scenes and jingoism in the latter. Uri showed operations like no other film had before, and had all the accurate details, be it the uniform or the operations procedure.”
‘DON’T APPRECIATE FILMS WITH SOLDIERS DANCING ON THE BATTLEFIELD, GLORIFICATION OF WAR AND JINGOISM’
While several defence personnel may have appreciated Border, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah, former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, who fought in the Battle of Longewala, isn’t a fan. He says, “The image that Indian films often portray of a soldier — as an alcoholic who sings and dances in the mess, and at times even on the battlefield! — isn’t true. Wars are nasty, but our films glorify them and have so much jingoism. Either they don’t hire any defence consultant or they don’t listen to them. I think Haqeeqat is a film that is better out of the lot, and I do think that films have improved in recent years.”
An Army officer who didn’t wish to be named, adds, “War is glorified and even politicised at times in Bollywood films, and they often imply that all soldiers do is to fight, which is definitely not true. Soldiers are quite well informed and they have to study and do a lot of research too, which is unfortunately never shown in films. Apart from films like Haqeeqat, I really liked Shaurya — inspired by Tom Cruise’s A Few Good Men — in terms of its portrayal of Army personnel. It is quite a wonderful film.”
‘WHAT’S THE POINT OF MAKING A FILM BASED ON THE LIFE OF A SOLDIER AND NOT GETTING THE BASICS RIGHT?’
Major Sangwan believes that to get the details right, it’s important to have defence experts on board. “While filmmakers do a lot of research when it comes to uniforms, they would not know the nuances of the uniform as compared to a person who wore it. While an artiste may believe they are wearing a ‘costume’, a uniform is not a costume. In fact, while portraying a soldier, one should know every aspect of that uniform.”
Major Shah adds, “Many makers have this misconception that they can’t show an accurate uniform on screen because ‘it is not allowed’.”
Having starred in the military drama series Avrodh: The Siege Within (2020) — for which he was also a defence consultant — and the film Haider (2014), he believes it is, in fact, necessary to get the details right. “In Haider, it was just a matter of a few scenes, but even then we got these details right. When there is a web series or a film based on the life of a soldier, if you can’t get these basics right, then what’s the point?”
Major Sangwan adds, “For Pippa, we trained junior artistes on how to talk, mannerisms, and decorum so that nuances weren’t lost. As compared to 20-30 years ago, films today are also more realistic because makers can use CGI, VFX, and other special effects.”
Mohommed Ali Shah reveals why he never dropped his uncle Naseeruddin Shah's name during auditions
8:22 AM
Naseeruddin Shah's nephew, Yaara actor Mohommed Ali Shah makes light of how veteran would react if he used his name to gain attention
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; July 31, 2020)
In an industry where star kids often hark back at their relationships with veterans to find an inroad into Bollywood, Major Mohommed Ali Shah has been slowly and quietly climbing the ranks. Naseeruddin Shah's nephew has been part of films like Agent Vinod (2012), Haider (2014), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Vodka Diaries (2017) and Raagdesh (2017), and features in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Yaara, which dropped digitally on Thursday.Vidyut Jammwal and Shruti Haasan's offering sees him as a Sikh police officer, a role that he earned after the director saw his Army major act in Haider. "My character of Jasjit Singh ages over two decades. The film sees me play a young IPS officer, and then as the joint director of CBI who is on the verge of retirement," says Shah.
While actors who frontline films go to great lengths to do justice to their role, Shah, who plays a supporting role, also left no stone unturned to play this part. He grew his hair, learnt to tie a turban, stopped smoking, read the Guru Granth Sahib and spent time at the Golden Temple. "I come from a theatre background, and want to be a master craftsman of the trade," says Shah, who shared screen space with his legendary uncle in Vivek Agnihotri's The Tashkent Files (2019) in a role that was eventually edited.
His training to be a commando during his stint at the Short Service Commission came to his aid. Apart from being posted at the Indo-Pak border for a while, the IIM Calcutta alumnus spent time at a corporate job before turning to acting.
Praising his acting chops, Naseeruddin once told Mohommed's father: "he is good". But the young actor never dropped his uncle's name during auditions or while meeting filmmakers. "My uncle will give me a kick and tell me make it on my own. One film has led to another and now, I hope, Yaara does the same."
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