The Unforgettables: What inspires Naseeruddin Shah and Irrfan Khan?
Both studied at the National School of Drama in New Delhi. Both have been the staple of independent Indian cinema. Both made forays into international cinema. The finest actors of their generation, Naseeruddin Shah and Irrfan Khan, on what inspires them and their performances.
Naseeruddin Shah: Irrfan had a much more interesting, though tougher, journey than mine. I was lucky to land up in Mumbai when serious cinema was just beginning to flower. Sara Akash (1969) had been a big success. Ankur (1975) released on the same day as Bobby and ran for 25 weeks. I felt fortunate that actors like me, not matinee idols or chocolate faces, were needed. I kept getting work, for there were people like Shyam Benegal, Govind Nihalani and Ketan Mehta making movies.
Irrfan Khan: I was much inspired by Naseersaheb and Dilip Kumarsaheb. I came to this industry to prove myself and was looking for direction. Naseersaheb's performance gave me that. I understood that life is a subject, that character is a subject. When I came to Mumbai, the whole parallel cinema movement was dying, taking its last breath. I became part of it, did a film with Govind Nihalani and then it was mayhem. It was all for front benchers; the era of Akshay Kumar and Sunil Shetty. I was waiting for a two to three minute part in a
