Man Infra construction is leading India’s real estate

The Indian Real Estate market is estimated...

Ultraviolette forays into Europe, unveils F77 e-w in Istanbul show

Ultraviolette Automotive, an electric vehicle platform and...

Actor who left a high-profile job in Army to pursue his childhood dream

CultureActor who left a high-profile job in Army to pursue his childhood dream

Mohammed Ali Shah’s work in the film Haider was well received and appreciated. Tigmanshu Dhulia, after watching his performance in the Vishal Bhardwaj flick, signed him right away for a major role in Yaara.

 

Actor Mohammed Ali Shah has acted in critically acclaimed films like Sriram Raghavan’s Agent Vinod, Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider, and Tigmanshu Dhulia’s Yaara. Shah, who is also the nephew of legendary actor Naseeruddin Shah, is often hailed for delving into his roles with profound approaches.

In his recent flick Yaara, shah plays the role of a CBI officer. To delve into the character of Joint Director CBI, Jasjit Singh, he spent a month in the Golden Temple in Amritsar and performed numerous services there. As a devout Sikh, he used to prepare the firewood for the cookhouse, chop vegetables, do the dishes, cook and serve food in the mess.

“To believe that I am Jasjit, I entered into his realms as profoundly as I could. Sikhs do not smoke, and I am a chain smoker, hence I quit smoking. I learned Punjabi language, even though that was not the requirement. I learned to tie the turban,” says Shah, who has formerly been a veteran of the Indian army.

His work in film Haider was very well received and appreciated. Tigmanshu Dhulia, after watching Shah’s brilliant performance in the Vishal Bhardwaj’s flick, signed him right away for a major role in film Yaara.

“I shall always be very grateful to Tigmanshu Dhulia for signing me up for Yaara. Sometimes a small role can lead to a big role. It is a dream role for me since it is a role which helped me to satiate my creative thirst as an actor because the role is very contrary to my personality,” said Shah.

Shah has served the Indian Army and has been guarding the national frontiers at the Indo- Pak border for two years in the terror-stricken union territory of Jammu and Kashmir for two years and has also fought the insurgency in the Northeast for three long years. Shah feels that his time in the Army has given him an upper-hand in performing his roles in flicks like Haider and Virodh.

“It was good enough experience. I tried to recreate the kind of experience I had while serving in the Army,” said Shah,

In fact, he earned his role as an Army officer in Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider because of the time he has spent in serving the nation. Moreover, Shah comes from a hardcore theatre background and has performed in the plays like Shakespear’s Hamlet (from which the film Haider is adopted). Hence, Bhardwaj, feeling that Shah was the realistic and deserving character for the film, was motivated to sign him right away.

“I kept my eyes and ears open to the films being made at that time. The moment I got to know of Vishal Bhardwaj wanting to make a film in Kashmir based on Hamlet, it was common sense that no film in Kashmir is complete without the mention of the Army there. I immediately sought a five-minute appointment with Vishal Bhardwaj and he was profoundly impressed,” said Shah.

Apart from acting, Major Mohommed Ali Shah is a renowned motivational speaker who holds the record of giving the highest number of Ted Talks across the world. “It is a delight to be able to affect and touch millions of lives positively in the right direction and is the most gratifying feeling one can ever have. Today, amid the pandemic, I have been extremely busy giving back to back motivational webinars and online storytelling sessions. It gives me a sense of satisfaction that I can make positive differences in people’s lives,” concluded Shah.

 

- Advertisement -

Check out our other content

Check out other tags:

Most Popular Articles