I wasn’t dying to do Vishal Bhardwaj’s film: Naseeruddin Shah

Actor Naseeruddin Shah is smug, sitting laidback at his home in Bandra, as he informs that he’s going to dedicate the year to theatre.

But he will also be seen playing one of actor Priyanka Chopra’s seven husbands in a Vishal Bhardwaj film and says that he prefers realism in his scripts. He says, “I wasn’t dying to do the film. But I like Vishal’s films. I think he makes interesting films, even though I haven’t liked all his works. But even his poor work is more interesting than a lot of people’s so-called good work. That’s why I took it up as a friend.”

He admits that the audience has changed, but their taste for Bollywood confectionery has remained the same. “However, that realistic films are being made today is a pointer to the fact that the younger generation is open to the new wave of cinema. Hence films are being made in the language that we all speak, which is a good sign,” the actor points out.

Among the recent releases, he says that he quite liked Dhobi Ghat — only because the characters spoke in a language they should have been speaking: “It’s great that films are being made in Indian English and a mixture of languages.” Shah is also open to sharing screen space with his sons Vivaan and Imaad. “If a good script comes along, why not?”

Talking about theatre, the veteran, who just finished shows of the play Caine Mutiny Court-Martial in the city, already has his diary full.

And he’s ready to don the director’s hat with two of Bernard Shaw’s plays, By George and Arms and the Man, Lee Blessing’s A Walk in the Woods, and Teesri Salaam, the third instalment of Ismat Chug tai’s writings.