Naseeruddin Shah Quotes

Naseeruddin Shah

Profession : Actor

Birth : July 20, 1949

I realise that I have made quite a few of the same mistakes with my kids that my dad made: not so much in trying to determine their lives for them but in terms of trying to discipline them.

Naseeruddin Shah

There are a lot of people in my family who should have become actors.

Naseeruddin Shah

As an actor, you have got to learn your job as thoroughly as you can. If you know your job, then there's nothing that can stop you. Because the bottom line is that only good actors will get work.

Naseeruddin Shah

I don't scoff at the desire to make good movies. I scoff at the quality at poseurs masquerading as masters of the medium.

Naseeruddin Shah

I do what work I get. I'm disappointed half the time.

Naseeruddin Shah

There is no such thing as serious cinema in India.

Naseeruddin Shah

The stuff that is done on Broadway is hardly theatre. It is part magic show, part rock concert, and part conjuring things.

Naseeruddin Shah

To me, the most important elements in a theatre are the actors and the texts.

Naseeruddin Shah

The magic of theatre is how much can you stimulate the mind of the audience, not how many illusions you can create.

Naseeruddin Shah

When my bank balance runs low, then I sign a big Bollywood monstrous movie, and I make sure that I am safe for the next few years.

Naseeruddin Shah

A lot of scripts are written with an eye on what will be popular or what will titillate or what this actor can do well. I don't think those kinds of scripts ever work.

Naseeruddin Shah

You can't make a film for your personal satisfaction. That is why I detest the cinema of people like Mani Kaul.

Naseeruddin Shah

Everyone equates good cinema with boring shots and boring films - where a character takes 10 minutes to walk down a corridor, and still nothing happens at the end of the shot. Those films tried to be cool and fashionable by dispensing with drama, which, in my opinion, is absolute nonsense.

Naseeruddin Shah

It is very tough to make a short film. It's like writing a short story, which is tougher than writing a novel. You can't afford to faff around; you can't indulge. You have to get to the point.

Naseeruddin Shah

It's a blessing to stay a child all your life - pretend to be this and that. And get paid for it.

Naseeruddin Shah

I'm not trying to prove myself a great filmmaker. I don't know much about filmmaking anyway. I'm trying my hand at it to see if I'm any good.

Naseeruddin Shah

Humans are the only ones who are the custodians of other people's morals.

Naseeruddin Shah

Hindi cinema has only one religion, and that's money.

Naseeruddin Shah

I was never turned down because I was a Muslim. I was turned down because I was not right for the part.

Naseeruddin Shah

A family business in cinema is not necessarily creative. It is generally about prolonging your family fortune.

Naseeruddin Shah