Naseeruddin Shah delivers the first Zahida Zaidi Memorial lecture at Aligarh Muslim University.
In his famous poem ‘On Teaching’, mystic poet Kahlil Gibran writes that a wise teacher ‘does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind’.
For Naseeruddin Shah this wise teacher was Zahida Zaidi, a playwright, poet, translator and a professor in the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University, who led a 17-year-old Naseer to discover his talent for acting. In Aligarh to deliver the first Zahida Zaidi memorial lecture, Naseer spoke about his formative years as a stage actor and the role that Zahida Zaidi played in developing in him the love of literature and drama.
She introduced him to the work of English and Continental playwrights which, he admits, he would not otherwise have read. Of the many books she also introduced him to Jerzy Grotowski’s famous book “Towards a Poor Theatre” which made a serious argument for theatre’s difference from cinema.
For Naseer, theatre is not simply a source of entertainment. It is also not a substitute for cinema. Unlike cinema, drama demands serious attention and the total involvement of the audience’s mind. Not a great fan of so called realistic drama and the lavishly designed sets on stage, which at best are a poor copy of cinema, for Naseer the main strength of drama is the actor, that living being on the stage who communicates with the audience. In theatre, the audience never forgets that they are watching a performance.
“That man who is full of life and is ready to communicate is the reality of theatre.” Probably drama and love of drama is as old as the history of mankind, believes Naseer. When people needed only shelter and food and when there was not even the development of language, people communicated through signs, through gestures, through acting. The purpose of that acting was not drama or entertainment but communication.
What motivates Naseer to perform on the stage and what makes him choose his roles? “I am not interested in meaningless comedies or the plays showing a husband wife fight or the scene of a jungle. I am not interested even in the audience, though audience is important. I am doing theatre for myself.”
On how he became an actor Naseer replies tongue in cheek, “Because I ran away from home, came to Aligarh, learnt Urdu, and met Zahida Zaidi.” On a more serious note, Naseer adds that unlike a person who wishes to become a doctor or engineer a young boy or girl seeking a career in acting has to struggle to find his way out.
He also fears being mocked at for his ambition. Zahida Zaidi took a young Naseer to National School of Drama, introduced him to Ebrahim Alkazi and told him in no uncertain terms that “My praise of you is not praise but my assessment of you, but your growth is in your own hands.”
Winner of three National Film Awards, Padma Bhushan Naseeruddin Shah has certainly not disappointed his teacher Zahida Zaidi and his alma mater.
In his famous poem ‘On Teaching’, mystic poet Kahlil Gibran writes that a wise teacher ‘does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind’.
For Naseeruddin Shah this wise teacher was Zahida Zaidi, a playwright, poet, translator and a professor in the Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University, who led a 17-year-old Naseer to discover his talent for acting. In Aligarh to deliver the first Zahida Zaidi memorial lecture, Naseer spoke about his formative years as a stage actor and the role that Zahida Zaidi played in developing in him the love of literature and drama.
She introduced him to the work of English and Continental playwrights which, he admits, he would not otherwise have read. Of the many books she also introduced him to Jerzy Grotowski’s famous book “Towards a Poor Theatre” which made a serious argument for theatre’s difference from cinema.
For Naseer, theatre is not simply a source of entertainment. It is also not a substitute for cinema. Unlike cinema, drama demands serious attention and the total involvement of the audience’s mind. Not a great fan of so called realistic drama and the lavishly designed sets on stage, which at best are a poor copy of cinema, for Naseer the main strength of drama is the actor, that living being on the stage who communicates with the audience. In theatre, the audience never forgets that they are watching a performance.
“That man who is full of life and is ready to communicate is the reality of theatre.” Probably drama and love of drama is as old as the history of mankind, believes Naseer. When people needed only shelter and food and when there was not even the development of language, people communicated through signs, through gestures, through acting. The purpose of that acting was not drama or entertainment but communication.
What motivates Naseer to perform on the stage and what makes him choose his roles? “I am not interested in meaningless comedies or the plays showing a husband wife fight or the scene of a jungle. I am not interested even in the audience, though audience is important. I am doing theatre for myself.”
On how he became an actor Naseer replies tongue in cheek, “Because I ran away from home, came to Aligarh, learnt Urdu, and met Zahida Zaidi.” On a more serious note, Naseer adds that unlike a person who wishes to become a doctor or engineer a young boy or girl seeking a career in acting has to struggle to find his way out.
He also fears being mocked at for his ambition. Zahida Zaidi took a young Naseer to National School of Drama, introduced him to Ebrahim Alkazi and told him in no uncertain terms that “My praise of you is not praise but my assessment of you, but your growth is in your own hands.”
Winner of three National Film Awards, Padma Bhushan Naseeruddin Shah has certainly not disappointed his teacher Zahida Zaidi and his alma mater.
