Ismat Aapa Ke Naam

Naseeruddin Shah is the one actor from the Bollywood film industry who is a true professional and you can tell that he gives his absolute best to anything he does. No pretence, no showbiz tantrums, no false images just a true professional. 

Naseeruddin appeared in the Parallel Cinema aka 'Art Films' of the early 80s along with names like Farooque Shaikh, Smita Patil, Shabana Azmi and the likes. Those films did not make huge box-office successes but definitely gave the paying-public some gritty performances depicting real life scenarios far away from the escapist and often laborious cinema Bollywood was producing in those days. Naseeruddin was one of the first 'Art Film' actors who crossed the barrier and moved into the more commercial cinema with films like Jalwa, Tridev followed by many more with an excellent performance in Sarfarosh. 

Each of those performances over the years have given so much joy to me and many others that I was over the moon when I found out that he would be appearing live at The Watermans in Brentford in May 2002 in a home production titled Ismat Aapa Ke Naam. 

The performance was a story-telling in Hindi and Urdu by master performers from the same family - Naseeruddin Shah, his wife Ratna Pathak-Shah and his daughter Heeba Shah. The performances were based on three short stories by the famous Urdu writer Ismat Khanum Chugtai. Her stories often challenged the accepted social standards and were provocative and witty at the same time. 

Each member of the cast read a story - more ike 'performed' the story as all the characters were performed by the same person. Ratna Pathak-Shah told the story title Mughal Bachcha about the Male dominance in our families and the resulting sufferings of the women folk. The performance was awe-inspiring as the characters were built, voices varied and personalities created. 

Heeba Shah told the story Chui Muee about a child birth on a train to a rural woman in contrast to the many pampering treatments received by an upper-class pregnant woman who is treated like the most delicate petal. Everyone around this rich pregnant woman is under strict instructions to fulfil her every desire and ensure that no harm comes to her as she prepares to deliver a 'son' (daughters are not accepted!) to the family. A celebration of strength and achievements of the rural women of India was so effectively delivered by the powerful performance by Heeba. 

The final cherry on cake was laid by Naseeruddin's performance at the end of the evening in the story Gharwali. A social satire about how the same woman can be acceptable or not based on the needs of men around her. Naseeruddin so effectively and apparently effortlessly carried through so many characters and never made it feel like a story, but more like a play. His mastery of the art shone through the performance which left behind a mesmerised audience. A simple story so artistically and articulately told by the master actor. Never say no to story-telling - if you are offered the opportunity to hear Naseeruddin read (perform!) it. 

Don't despair if you missed this performance. You can catch Naserruddin performing at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester in Bali from the 31st May 2002.