Naseeruddin Shah is one of the finest Indian film performers ever – and is a keeper of India’s conscience in its current political climate. He is the only Indian to date to win the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival (for 1984’s Paar), and the recipient of India’s top civilian honours and several national film awards. Last year, Shah was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His performances have defined cinematic intensity and subtlety, and he is a pillar of the Indian parallel cinema movement. Starting with Nishant, which won him instant notice, he has made more than 100 movies (mainly in Hindi but also other languages) that range from offbeat to “middle cinema” to outright commercial. He has acted in international cinema, too, in Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding to critical acclaim, and alongside Sean Connery in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and written a lively and honest memoir, And Then One Day.
