Naseeruddin Shah (born 20 July 1950) is an Indian actor and theatre director, widely regarded as one of the finest actors India has produced. A leading figure of the parallel cinema movement of the 1970s and 1980s, he has won three National Film Awards and has also been a success in mainstream films. He runs the theatre company Motley and received the Padma Bhushan in 2003.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Naseeruddin Shah |
| Born | 20 July 1950, Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Age | 76 |
| Occupation | Actor, theatre director |
| Education | Aligarh Muslim University; National School of Drama; FTII, Pune |
| Years active | 1972–present |
| Spouse | Parveen Murad (div.); Ratna Pathak Shah (m. 1982) |
| Children | 3 (Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan) |
| Honours | Padma Shri (1987), Padma Bhushan (2003) |
Early Life
Shah was born in Barabanki, where his father was a government official. He was sent to boarding school at St. Anselm’s in Ajmer and St. Joseph’s College in Nainital, where he discovered acting. He graduated from Aligarh Muslim University and trained at the National School of Drama in Delhi and then the Film and Television Institute of India.
Career
Shyam Benegal cast him in Nishant (1975), and he became central to the new realistic cinema, often alongside Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Om Puri. He won the National Film Award for Best Actor as a blind school principal in Sparsh (1980) and again for Paar (1984). Other landmark films of these years include Aakrosh, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai, Mirch Masala, Shekhar Kapur‘s Masoom (1983) and the satire Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983).
He was also a star of commercial films such as Karma, Tridev (1989) and Mohra (1994), played the poet in Gulzar’s television series Mirza Ghalib (1988), and gave much-praised performances in Sarfarosh (1999), Monsoon Wedding (2001), Maqbool (2003), Iqbal (2005), for which he won a third National Award, A Wednesday (2008), Ishqiya (2010) and The Dirty Picture (2011). He appeared in the Hollywood film The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003).
In 1979 he co-founded the theatre group Motley with Tom Alter and Benjamin Gilani; its first production was Waiting for Godot. He continues to act in and direct plays in English, Hindi and Urdu.
Personal Life
Shah married the actress Ratna Pathak in 1982; they have two sons, Imaad and Vivaan, both actors. He has a daughter, Heeba, from his first marriage. His memoir, And Then One Day, was published in 2014. He is known for speaking his mind on the film industry and on public affairs.
Awards and Honours
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Naseeruddin Shah born?
Naseeruddin Shah was born on 20 July 1950 in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 76 years old.
What is Naseeruddin Shah’s occupation?
Occupation: Actor, theatre director.
What honours has Naseeruddin Shah received?
Padma Shri (1987), Padma Bhushan (2003).
Featured image: Naseeruddin Shah speaks at the India Film Project (IFP) Season 9, Mumbai, October 2019. Photo by Ifpofficial, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
