Where movies are concerned, it is the general conception that most actors would prefer to act in the lead roles. However, Veteran and versatile actor Naseeruddin Shah has said that he loves to play the bad in films as he feels that characters with a nicer streak can be very boring to portray on screen. Thus Naseeruddin plays a grey character in the film “Jackpot”—and he admits “this is the kind of character I love to do.”“Jackpot” also stars Sachin Joshi and Indo-Canadian porn-star-turned actress Sunny Leone in the lead. They are still new in the industry but working with newcomers had never been an issue with Naseeruddin. So far, he has done 250 films in his career 150 of which have been with new directors. “I was also a new once. So I have no issues working with new actors. Both Sachin and Sunny are professionals and devoted,” he said.
Naseeruddin is reported to personally love his performances in “Bombay Boys” and “Mirch Masala” and insists that its fun to play such grey characters. According to him, he would only like to play the nice guy role in real life. Incidentally, Naseeruddin’s elder brother, Lieutenant General Z.U. (Zameeruddin) Shah was posted as the Corps Commander headquartered at Rangapahar, Dimapur during 2005.
Naseeruddin is currently busy wrapping up “Dedh Ishqiya” where he carries forward his character Khalu Jaan from his 2010 hit “Ishqiya” in which he also portrayed a grey character.
Villian Ranjit who is reportedly a thorough gentleman in real life feels more comfortable in the negative roles in his reel life. And yet he remains popular like Prem Chopra and Pran. As a matter of fact, it is true that the film “Sholay” broke all box office receipt records and is yet to be surpassed. A galaxy of titanic actors were involved in the film such a as Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Jaya Bhaduri , Sanjeev Kunar, Jagdeep and Amjad Khan to name but a very few.
All of them gave stunning performances but it is still the general conclusion till date that the overall success of the film pivoted around Gabbar Singh as portrayed by Amjad Khan. The film is the only one that ran continuously for six months in Eros Cinema hall, Dimapur—another record of its kind setting a silver jubilee!
To play the role of the nice guy also requires a certain kind of versatility aided by talent and good looks. Among such actors the late Dev Anand was a prime example. More like a playboy, his scarf and nodding head have become the model for many dreamers in real life. It is impossible to shed any tears in any Dev Anand film for he leaves one with romantic hopes. Tragedy king Dilip Kumar can make you shed tears so also the late Rajendra Kumar also known as “Jubilee Kumar.” Rajesh Khanna may not have been the best of the lot but he was a phenomenon usually in nice guy or sacrificial roles. And so on.
In films the hero and villain may confront each other but in another film they may be comrades—there are numerous instances to name here individually. So also in life, politically especially, there are no permanent friends and no permanent enemies. But as baseball player Leo Durocher gave the title to his book: “Nice Guys Finish Last.”
