'I think acting is the most boring job'

Naseeruddin Shah, who did not sever his ties with the theatre despite becoming a popular figure in Bollywood, feels that people want to become actors to “earn money, fame and get to do films through the theatre”.

“No one is here (theatre) for the sake of art or to serve the theatre... all want name, fame and money...I myself went to the theatre to use it as a platform to go to the film industry,” Shah said here on Tuesday while speaking to Deccan Herald.

“Those who say they are there to serve the theatre are in fact lying,” Shah went on to add.

He dismissed the notion that parallel cinema, to which he himself owed his popularity, could be a good tool to reform society.

Shah said those who used to make parallel cinema in the 1970s, have either “fled” the scene or have started making films to suit the demand of the people.
Although Shah has been working in the film industry for over 36 years, he finds acting the “most boring job”. “It is the most boring job in the world,” he said in reply to a question.

“If there was no money and fame in the film industry, no one will like to do acting,” he said.

After so many years in the film industry, Shah now feels he should retire. “I no longer want to work in films,” he said. He said he would like to teach and study literature.

Shah has won the national award for ‘Sparsh’ in 1980 and ‘Paar’ in 1985 as the best leading actor, and the best supporting actor in ‘Iqbal' in 2007.