Veteran actor
Naseeruddin Shah has more often been in news lately for his unpopular opinions rather than his filmography. The actor who was recently seen in films like Gehraiyaan and Kuttey and web series like Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo and Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley has quite a few familial connections in the industry. But did you know his elder brother had a distinguished career in the military? Did you know Naseeruddin is a descendent of a 19th-century Sayyid Afghan warrior who took part in the first Anglo-Afghan War and aided the English in the Indian Rebellion of 1857? Find out all this and more in this edition of ETimes BFFs (Big Filmy Families).
Aley Mohammed ShahAley Mohammed Shah and his wife Farrukh Sultan had three sons - Zaheeruddin Shah, Zameeruddin Shah and Naseeruddin Shah. While little is known about the eldest son Zaheeruddin, Zameeruddin Shah is a retired senior General of the Indian Army. He was the Deputy Chief of the Indian Army Staff (Personnel & Systems). After retirement, he served as an administrative member on the bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University from 2012-2017. His son Mohommed Ali Shah is a former military office and a motivational speaker. His daughter Saira Shah Halim is a politician.
Mohommed Ali ShahMohommed is also an actor and has appeared in films like Sriram Raghavan's Agent Vinod, Vishal Bhardwaj's Haider and Tigmanshu Dhulia's Yaara. He has also acted Doordarshan's TV series, Dil Aashna Hai among other projects.
Naseeruddin ShahNaseeruddin Shah made his Bollywood debut in 1975 with the film Nisham. He has acted in over 100 films including Sparsh, Aakrosh, Hum Paanch, Umrao Jaan, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro, Masoom, Trikal, Mirch Masala, Karma, Tridev, Chamatkar, Sir, Monsoon Wedding, Paheli, Krissh, Omkara, The Dirty Picture, Dedh Ishqiya, Finding Fanny, Sarfarosh, A Wednesday, The Tashkent Files, Mee Raqsam, Gehraiyaan, Kuttey to name a few. In 206, he made his directorial debut with Yun Hota To Kya Hota.
Naseer was married to Manara Sikri aka Parveen Murada who was a doctor. He had a daughter, Heeba, with her. After living-in with Ratna Pathak for many years, he divorced Manara and married Pathak in 1982.They have two sons, Imaad and Vivaan, both of whom are actors. The couple lives in Mumbai with Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan.
Ratna Pathak ShahRatna Pathak Shah is most popular as Maya Sarabhai from comedy series Sarabhai vs Sarabhai. Even though she made her acting debut in 1083 with Mandi, she rose to fame with the TV series Idhar Udhar that also starred Supriya Pathak. She has done several TV shows including Filmi Chakkar, Tara, Gubbare and most recently Trial By Fire and Charlie Chopra among many others. She has films like Mirch Masala, Paheli, Jaane Tu.. Ya Jaane Na, Golmaal 3, Lipstick Under My Burkha, Thappad and the most recent Dhak Dhak to her credit among many others.
Heeba ShahHeeba is an actress who appeared in TV series like Tara, Child Bride, Gormint and most recently with her father in Charlie Chopra & The Mystery of Solang Valley. She has done a couple of short films like Ravi Goes to School, Open Cafe v 2.5, Nora and Pandit Usman. She was also seen in Afsos and Ghost Stories (Karan Johar's part). She has films like Mango Souffle, Beyond The Clouds, and Poorna to her credit among many others.
Imaad ShahImaaduddin Shah aka Imaad, made his Bollywood debut with his father's directorial Yun Hota To Kya Hota in 2007. Thereafter he was seen in films like Dil Dosti Etc, Little Zizou, The Reluctant Fundamentalist. He has been a part of web series like Bombay Begums, The Married Woman, The Empire, Modern Love Mumbai and Charlie Chopra. He is part of the electro funk band Madboy/Mink with Saba Azad and is the frontman and guitarist/vocalist for the funk/disco band The Pulp Society.
Vivaan ShahVivaan made his Bollywood debut with Saat Khoon Maaf in 2011. He was a part of Happy New Year, Bombay Velvet, Laali Ki Shaadi Mein Laaddoo Deewana among others. He also played a part in Charlie Chopra that also featured his entire family.
Surekha Sikri, Pankaj Kapur, Supriya PathakYes, Naseeruddin Shah is related to all these industry stalwarts. Surekha Sikri is the sister of Naseer's first wife Manara Sikri. His daughter Heeba has a striking resemblance to Surekha Sikri who was well known for her work in both films and television.
Supriya Pathak is Ratna Pathak's sister and that's how Naseer is related to both Supriya and Pankaj Kapur and their families. That makes Imaad Shah and Vivaan Shah cousins of Sanah Kapur, Ruhaan Kapur, and Shahid Kapoor!
More fun facts about Naseer SaabNaseeruddin Shah turns out to be a descendent of Jan-Fishan Khan aka Sayyid Muhammad Shah who was a 19th-century Afghan warrior who took part in the first Anglo-Afghan War and aided the English in the Indian Rebellion of 1857!
Naseer actually made his debut in 1967 with the film ‘Aman’ in which he played a small role of a youngster behind the deceased doctor. But it is not regarded as his debut, as he did not play a main role. His official debut film, Nishant, was nominated for an Oscar though!
Did you know Naseeruddin Shah was approached to audition for the character of Harry Potter's Albus Dumbledore? But he declined the same!
Did you know Naseeruddin Shah was once stabbed by his FTII classmate and fellow actor named Rajendra Jaspal? It is said that Jaspal envied Naseer's success as an actor. However, Shah was saved by actor Om Puri and the rest is history!
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