Some movies shatter you to bits, and you need some great deal of wisdom to crimp yourself back into shape. Just like that, Naseeruddin Shah’s conversation with Deepika’s Alisha in Gehraiyaan wrapped us in a warm blanket amidst the freezing temperatures.
Towards the end of the film when we were pretty much destroyed by the high tension sequence, Shah infused the perfect amount of soundness into the film that was akin to therapy.
The man does not need mighty dialogues or high-voltage background score to make an impression; all he needs is a moment to work his magic on us.
And this isn’t the first time the veteran actor has left us spellbound in just one scene. It teleports us to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, in which Salman (Naseeruddin Shah), an artist, meets his son Imran (Farhan Akhtar) for the first time.
His eyes reflected his disappointment in himself for never being there for his son, yet he plucked up the courage to be brutally honest to him, and felt extremely poignant. The uncomfortable and heartbreaking conversation that was pulled off by the actors is a performance that’s stuck with us.
In the series of him being an absent-father, how can we not recall Gen Z’s favourite Main Hoon Na, where we didn’t have him recurring on screen yet he added so much value into the film in just a few opening minutes.
Brig. Shekhar Sharma (Shah), who entrusted Major Ram (Shahrukh Khan) with the responsibility of bringing his scattered family together in his final days, actually served as the foundation for the entire film.
Moving forward, do you vaguely remember “Ranjhore khaandaan ki teen shartein?”
Yes, Amar Singh (Shah) from Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, who was just a dead man in the portrait, frequently came to life and interacted with his wife, only to convince her to turn their son Jay (Imraan Khan) into a macho man.
Funnily enough, how can someone create such a strong impact by simply standing behind the portrait? I suppose it’s a natural ability that only Naseeruddin Shah can master.
Last but not the least, Bhaskar Sanyal (Shah), the rival leftist leader in Raajneeti made life-altering mistakes, delivered power speeches but this flawed character did not fail to win our hearts with his impeccable acting.
There are a slew of other films that Naseer Saab has graced with his magnetic presence but the way he has briefly appeared in these films and yet managed to steal the show deserves all the praise it already has.
To sum it up, if I ever feel uneasy, I’ll return to these films as his voice is all the therapy I’ll ever need.
