Interview With Former Major of Indian Army Mohammad Ali Shah
Former Major of Indian Army, won Best Actor Award in “Short N Sweet Theatre Festival” and Nephew of Renowned actor Naseeruddin Shah
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| Former Major of India Army Mohammad Ali Shah |
Ali takes pride in the fact that served the country as a proud officer in the Army and says that the soldiers of our country are our real heroes, he would like to send a message across to people that is:
"When you go home - tell them about us - and say for your tomorrow we gave our today".
Former Major Mohommed Ali Shah is a blue blooded former officer of the Indian Army. His ancestors were the Nawab’s of Sardhana. He is an aluminous of the prestigious IIM Calcutta, Fergusson College Pune and grew up at one of the best boarding school’s of the country – “Lawrence School Lovedale”. While in school he was an active member of “ Bharat Scouts and guides” and has done N.C.C. while in college, apart from modelling for several brands and earning his own pocket money from the age of 18. He has had the rare honour and privilege of serving as the ADC to Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah ( PVSM, SM, VSM), Retd. At Nagaland, who went on to become the “ Deputy Chief of the Army Staff” and is currently the Vice Chancellor of the prestigious “ Aligarh Muslim University”. Incidentally, Ali is also the son of Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah, who happens to be the elder brother of the country’s most respected and popular actor, Mr. Naseer Uddin Shah who as we all know is a recipient of the Prestigious Padma Bhushan, Padma Shree apart from several National and Film fare awards. Coming from such an illustrious back ground, Ali is doesn’t want to live in the shadows of his illustrious father and Uncle. This former Mr. Pune 1999, is a humble and a level headed gentleman, with his head over his shoulders and his feet placed firmly on the ground. He has served with distinction in the country’s most difficult and rugged terrains such as the states of Jammu & Kashmir and the North East, despite being decorated with a commendation card for exceptional devotion to duty. He mentions that the most memorable, golden and a year of immense learning was when he was his father’s ADC, in the Army. Gen Shah was very strict with him and they shared a professional relationship, with Ali meeting his parents, who were only Gen and Mrs Shah for him then. He would address them as Sir and Ma’am like any young officer would, stay at his own separate ADC’s residence and would only meet them officially, such as meeting his father in office or the Golf course and his mother at Army functions and parties. It was during this time that maximum learning was imparted on Ali. He has had the exposure of doing a stint with the Para Military forces and served with the “ Assam Rifles” in Kohima thereafter, where he got the golden chance of leading the Assam Rifles contingent for the Republic day parade 2008 at Rajpath saluting H.E. the President of India. He says the best thing about the Army is it is a very close knot family and most importantly it is not only a career but a way of life, he says which organisation in the world would groom you to the extent of teaching you to eat with fork and knife and also pay you for it. Which organisation will look after your education academically and also pay you for enhancing your qualification. Which organisation will give you a chance to experience thrill and adventure and also pay you for it. Which organisation will pay you to learn horse riding and Polo, deep water diving, rock climbing, mountain climbing, para sailing, hang gliding and also not only pay you but pay you handsomely for it. He says where else can you lead over 100 men, at the raw age of 21, who would live and die by your word. Having completed the Short Service Commission in Army, made a man out of him he confesses, apart from giving him practical management lessons. A deadly combination of having served in the Army as well as going to the country’s premier B –school, made him excel in the corporate sector where he worked for 5 years and last resigned from a senior managerial post with Mahindra & Mahindra, in Sept 2012, when he got an offer from a leading hindi film director to act in his film. Ali didn’t think twice, and after consulting his wife, who is pursuing her PHD from J.N.U took the risk of saying good bye to his regular 9 to 5 lucrative corporate job, he says he got the confidence to move ahead in life since he was well equipped with his qualifications as well as work experience, apart from having faith in his own abilities and most importantly his family believing in him. He had booked a house – a project by the Tata’s for his wife and himself way back in 2009, of which he took possession in 2013, where Ali moved in immediately after having put in his papers from his ex employers. Ali has rich experience in Theatre, having performed on stage and having acted and directed several plays. He has worked with almost all the leading Theatre groups of Delhi, including doing Theatre with Mr. Tom Alter and ofcourse his illustrious Uncle. He was nominated as the “Best Actor”, during the debut of the “ Short and Sweet” theatre festival in Delhi in 2010. He is keen on exploring the world along with his beautiful wife and his cute son. We are a very adventurous family who enjoys travelling and meeting different kind of people he says, having travelled to each and every state of the country and various countries abroad. He likes to make friends, read books, is a keen sportsman, has a flair for languages and can speak fluent Nagamese. It was due to his friendly nature as a people’s person that he won several hearts and minds of the local population in the North East. Ali can’t stand the sight of hypocrites and people who indulge in any sort of discrimination.
Ali has acted in several of the diploma productions of the Film and Television Institute of India at Pune apart from acting in several of the Mass Communications diploma films at the Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. Besides doing serious Theatre and having trained as an actor under the able guidance of his uncle and mentor Mr. Naseer Uddin Shah. He was involved in Saif Ali Khan’s “Agent Vinod” and is shooting for a film with the country’s leading film maker at an exotic location. As of today this Meerut boy is on a thresh hold of a very interesting, adventurous and an illustrious career in the field of acting and we all join hand together to wish him all the very best in his new career regarding which he is so passionate about – ACTING and he firmly believes that " Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster men - but sooner or later the person who wins is the person who thinks HE CAN".
Q1) As we know that you are from Indian Army, So how did your passion for theatre start?
Answer 1)My passion for Theatre started very early, when I first went on stage - I was 5 years old then. I just loved the feeling of being on stage. It gave me a high. My father was in the Army, he retired from the Army as the Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, I was always inspired by my father and my uncle, and so I decided to see both the lives of the two great personalities, and went to Fergusson College for my graduation. Why specifically Pune? because my father is an allumni of NDA ( National Defence Academy) at Khadakwasala, Pune and my uncle Naseer is an allumni of FTII ( Film and Television Institue of India), Pune, so I thought being in Pune I will get to see both the sides of the great institutions closely. I won Mr. Pune talent in 1999 and got into Modelling and did several plays. However, it was Theatre which appealed to me and stimulated my intellect and helped me grow as a person, as an artiste, as a craftsman and most importantly as a human being.
Q2) Have you noticed any changes in theatre scene of Delhi in the last 10 years?
Answer 2) Yes, Theatre has come a long way in Delhi in the last 10 years. I take pride in telling people that I was part of the debut of the International Theatre festival in India which opened at Delhi in 2010 - where I was nominated as " the best actor" and " The best director". Personally I feel Theatre was and is under no threat from Cinema. Cinema has a different medium of exposure and Theatre has again a very different medium of exposure. Having performed with almost all the leading Theatre groups and in almost all the good Theatre's in Delhi - I can proudly say that Delhiites are wonderful audience and have always encouraged Theatre as an art form. It is now that Delhi has started experimenting with new ideas and new forms of Theatre. My uncle Naseer, aunt Ratna and cousin Heeba studied at the National School of Drama, so I have heard stories that earlier if one was a student at NSD, one would be confronted by silly questions that Oh Drama ?what is there to study in drama, however if one was a student at any IIM's then that was acceptible. However now bright intelligent and fresh young talent is applying for the NSD at Delhi year after year. The future of Theatre in Delhi is very bright.
Q3) We can see nowadays there is a trend of actors coming from Bollywood background joining the Bollywood, and You are the nephew of veteran actor Mr. Naseeruddin Shah Sahab, still why you chose Indian army or Theatre and not Bollywood?
3) Firstly, I find the term Bollywood very derogatory - it sounds as if the Indian cinema is a cheap copy of Hollywood. The Hindi film industry has its own identity and one must respect that. Yes, it is extremely difficult for a person from a non filmy back ground to break into Hindi films. There is a norm of only star kids entering the industry. However, having seen the industry from very close quarters I choose to stay away from the fake glamour and glitter of "Bollywood" so to say. I personally think that acting is actually a very non glamorous profession, if you take it seriously. As actors we do laborious tasks, we are artists and craftsmen. It is serious hard work and not as easy and glamorous as it seems from far. An actor / artist creates reality whereas a star creates an illusion. It is far tougher to recreate reality. As an actor one has to been a voracious reader, one has to have a top story (Celebral matter / grey matter). The Indian audience was very gullible and believed whatever the stars did - However, thankfully the audience is getting intelligent and will only be convinced if the actors have been truthful and honest to their work. True actors don't want to be stars nor do they want stardom - they only focus on honing and sharpening their skill. I only want to be a master of my trade and excel in what I believe I am most skilled for. I will only work with film directors on whom I have tremendous faith in and who know their beans well. For e.g. : I personally think Mr. Vishal Bhardwaj is truly the master of his trade in the industry, and so am working with him in his upcoming film - which I wouldn't want to name at the moment. I chose to go back to my Alma mater - "Lawrence School, Lovedale" and direct their Founders play in May this year. We would be doing "Fiddler on the roof". It is far more interesting, stimulating and appealing to have had the satisfaction of having served the country in the most difficult terrains - which I would like to term as exotic locations and sending across a social message by means of Theatre rather than standing in a claustrophobic film frame, with blazing lights frowning upon you and shooting before a few spot boys. Theatre is basically exchange of energies from one actor to another and is more fun than films, however, unfortunately it is very difficult to survive only on Theatre and so many Theatre actors have to look at films and television to earn their livelihood. Theatre is far more challenging than films as there are no retakes, and being an alumni of the prestigious IIM, Calcutta and my wife doing her PHD and my father being an academician since he is the Vice Chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University, I choose to do something which stimulates one's intellect rather than just look good. As a Theatre person, an actor and an ex fauji I can proudly say " When you go home tell them about us - and say for your tomorrow, we gave our today".
Q 4) Is there any difference between Bollywood and Theatre? And Is there any difference between the theatre of one state and other state?
Answer 4) A lot of people will say that there is a huge difference between Films and Theatre. However, apart from the medium if you just do your job as an actor with utmost sincerity, truthfully, with dedication, hard work and honestly - I would like to say there is no difference as long as you know the craft. The actual meaning of acting is "To Do", or to behave or to be. Acting basically means not acting at all. In Theatre we worship A film is video recorded and can be played many times in a day all over the world. However, we can only perform the same play in one particular city, a couple of times in a day, it could be twice or at the best thrice in a day, so it will not be fair to compare the two mediums. A lot of people say that Theatre is not as popular as films, I would like to ask them - how can Theatre get the kind of exposure films get, for the reason I have just explained above. I know people who would not mind spending Rs.500/- for a film, however would not spend Rs.50/- to go watch a play. However, I know many people who would not mind paying triple the amount for a good Theatrical production but would not watch a film even on a complimentary ticket. This basically goes to show that films are for the masses and Theatre is definitely for the classes. I have acted in several FTII diploma films as well as have been associated with the best Theatre groups of the country; I have not found any difference in the two, since we were all very honest to our work. However, yes one has the freedom to use the entire stage in a play whereas one has to be very conscience of the frame for a film. In theatre it is your body language which speaks, and in films it is your eyes which speak, however like I said earlier provided you do your work with utter truth there is no difference between the two.
Talking about difference in theatre in different states, of course there is a huge difference in the kind of folk theatre that is done; just the way there is a difference in various dance forms such as Kathak, bharatnatayam and Chow. Just the way there are different kinds of martial arts, different kinds of art forms similarly there is a difference in the theatre of various states.
Interview taken by
Mohammad Nabeel
