Top 100 Quotes & Sayings by Naseeruddin Shah
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an Indian actor Naseeruddin Shah.
Last updated on December 21, 2024.
When my brother came home from NDA (National Defence Academy), I felt, 'Wow, I should like to wear that uniform.' But I didn't want to join the army.
My dad occupied a government position, deputy collector, in a city called Nainital, so we had access to the cinemas at any time. I saw my first movies when I was very young.
I had many doubts while writing my autobiography. I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested to read about my life.
I do enjoy thinking about the past.
Finally, I have realised that it is important to look good.
Undeniable though it is that many Indian Muslims misguidedly consider Pakistan their haven, the immeasurably greater number who take intense pride in being Indian and who connect deeply with the country are hurt and angered at our patriotism being under scrutiny.
I am hard put to think of a single positive thing that commercial Hindi cinema has achieved.
I am the king of old school romance.
I don't take reviews seriously. I don't even read them. Who is this person blasting forth his opinion? What's his worth, and how different is he from any man on the street?
In theatre, there is a unique feeling of everyone working as a team, which you never get in films.
The film industry does not interest me greatly. The people, I don't mingle with them much. I meet them when I have to.
I had decided never to dye my hair because by doing that, it doesn't make a man look young. In fact, I feel the wrinkles on a man's face become more prominent when you dye your hair.
I feel that cinema can't change society or bring a revolution. I'm also not sure of cinema as a medium of education. Documentaries can be educative, not feature films.
Being good or evil has nothing to do with religion.
It would be impossible to find an actor to portray Om Puri, so I wouldn't even attempt it.
There are some movies that you feel like doing because of the script. Some because it sounds like fun, some because that's the director you want to work with, some because it's a project that you want to be involved with, and some because you will be paid lots of money. But the bottom line is I must feel like doing it.
People should know what the India of 2018 was like. They shouldn't end up seeing only Salman Khan films 200 years later. India is not like that.
I am never comfortable working with stars.
Actors have to learn that they are as important to a movie as the camera is, as important as the sound is, and less important than the script is.
I was lucky to land up in Mumbai when serious cinema was just beginning to flower.
I don't think cinema has the power to change anybody's life.
The ballooning budgets of Bollywood are getting out of hand, and it's important for people to realise that you don't need Rs 20 crore to make a good, commercially viable film.
I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow, if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer.
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.
I have the highest regard for the police forces.
Playing the good guy is boring. I love twisted, flawed characters.
Don't opt for acting as an escape from education.
People think I am joking when I say my favourite actors are Shammi Kapoor and Dara Singh.
When I see an emotion being enacted by a great actor, I always feel I can never do that.
Acting is learnt, not taught.
'Bombay Boys' is among my favourite movies and my favourite performance of myself.
Somehow, Hindi movies never took me in the same way Hollywood films did. Even at the age of five or six, I could see the difference in the quality of execution.
I am totally for first timers. I always hear them seriously. I have done so many films with first timers, and I've never regretted it.
'Macbeth,' I am ambivalent about. I don't like that play, in fact.
What drew me into being an actor was that I never got cast in the school plays - and it used to kill me.
I think our cinema has stayed in its adolescent stage largely because of our obsession with and our dependence upon stars to make our movies. The stars, being only too human, realise that this is the case, and so they milk it for whatever it's worth, and who can blame them?
Film industry people don't read books.
Unfortunately, in our country, crying is mistaken for good acting.
It is always a pleasure to be directed by an actor because they know the scene from the actor's perspective, too. That's an advantage.
It's completely beyond comprehension that you just can't say anything without offending somebody or the other.
It was the '70s when mediocrity came in Hindi films. That's when the actor called Rajesh Khanna joined the industry. For all his success, I think Mr. Khanna was a very limited actor. In fact, he was a poor actor.
When I first dreamt of becoming a movie star, I wanted to be a Gary Cooper: I wanted to be rich and famous, living in palaces and wearing dark glasses and white suits.
My dream is to produce a generation of actors who realise what the function of an actor in a movie is supposed to be.
Granted, patriotism is not a tonic that can be forced down people's throats.
I don't look at my work as an avenue for generating more work. For me, my work itself is sufficient.
I can say with pride that I have a brother who served with distinction in the Indian Army.
Shakespeare is a seminal story-teller. I don't think he imagined he was writing classics or that he was writing great poetry. I don't think he dreamt his work would be staged 400 years after he died.
My agent wanted me to audition for Dumbledore's character after Richard Harris died. I was asked if I would like to audition for it. But I wouldn't audition for it.
Acting is fun, but directing is very stressful.
One would marvel on the screen the way Shammi Kapoor walked, Dilip Kumar cried, or seeing Dev Anand's style. And then, one day, you are in the same space with them. It's very unreal.
An actor can never voice his opinion through films. All an actor does is convey what the director and writer want to say. You are a mouthpiece of their ideas. Your ideas reflect only in your choice of movies.
The only serious function films can serve is to act as a record of their times.
I have had enough of an interesting life to not embellish it in any way.
I've always found people with physical disabilities interesting to watch: how the dynamics of their body work, what makes them move this way or that.
If I criticize my country, it is indeed very painful for me. It doesn't make me happy. But, if I see something wrong, it becomes my duty to speak up.
I am from a place called Sardhana, which is near Meerut.
A person takes his own path. My father tried to guide me the best way he thought I should go, and it didn't work. I went the way I wanted to.
Nobody can send me to Pakistan. India is my country, and I love my country. Five generations of my family have lived and died on this land, and even my children will live in this country because this is my homeland.
I have gone into every project with the same enthusiasm and the same hope, but some have worked out, and some haven't.
No actor can give his best performance without the help of the director.
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