THROWBACK! Naseeruddin Shah Recalls Shabana Azmi Insulted Him And Om Puri Over Their Looks: ‘Do Itne Badshakal Insaan’

Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah once spoke about Bollywood stars’ take on their looks in an old interview with Anupam Kher

6967 Reads |  

THROWBACK! Naseeruddin Shah Recalls Shabana Azmi Insulted Him And Om Puri Over Their Looks: ‘Do Itne Badshakal Insaan’
The Bollywood industry is all about glitz and glamour and as Poo from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham suggested it depends on “Good Looks, Good Looks and Good Looks”. Although, for some actors, it isn’t all about good looks per se, for example, veteran star Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri.

However, it's quite difficult to beat them when it comes to acting, and not everyone can match their level of versatility. 

In an old interview with Anupam Kher, Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah once spoke about Bollywood stars’ take on their looks and revealed a rather unknown incident with Shabana Azmi. 

For those of you who are unaware, Naseeruddin and Om were classmates and friends at the National School of Drama before entering Bollywood. 

In a conversation with Anupam Kher on The Anupam Kher Show, Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri opened up about how the Bollywood industry would see them as actors as they didn’t have the good looks.

Recalling how Shabana Azmi had reacted after seeing a photograph of Naseer and Om from their NSD days, said, “Do itne badshakal insaan, kaise yeh jurrat kar sakte hain actor banne ki? Himmat kaise hui tumhari yahan aane ki?”

When Anupam asked Shah whether he ever felt out of place or had any complex with his looks, the actor shared, “Of course, I had a complex. Although by then, actors like Shatrughan Sinha and Amitabh Bachchan had appeared on the scene. They were just not pretty faces, they had the gravitas of playing character roles as well. And I knew that I did not look like a film star. I had difficulty accepting it but I was able to live with it.”

Naseeruddin Shah added that he had soon realised that he has the advantage of changing his face and mentioned that as far as handsomeness goes it depends on one’s confidence.

Image Source: SpotboyE