TCN News
Aligarh: Noted film and stage actor and director, also a Padma awardee Naseeruddin Shah delivered today the ‘Professor Zahida Zaidi Memorial Lecture’ in Aligarh Muslim University’s Kennedy Hall Auditorium. The program was organized by University’s Cultural Education Center.
While talking about the journey from being an AMU student attending the Varsity’s Department of English to his illustrious career, Shah pointed out that he owes his success to Professor Zahida Zaidi.
He recalled that she was ‘a feisty lady in the English department’ of Aligarh Muslim University, who introduced him to Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer’, Eugene Ionesco’s ‘The Lesson’ and ‘The Chairs’, Edward Albee’s ‘Zoo Story’, Samuel Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’, Anton Chekhov’s ‘A Proposal’ and many other Continental plays.
“I still remember Zahida Apa (Prof Zahida Zaidi) for her perceptiveness and intellectual capacity, who introduced me to literature I might not otherwise have read,” said Shah.
Shah pointed out, “At the age of 17, I was sure to become an actor, but didn’t know how to pursue an acting career.”
“My parents wanted me to follow footsteps of my elder brothers, but I knew I couldn’t join IIT or qualify NDA,” said Shah adding that I was lucky to join AMU and have a teacher like Professor Zahida Zaidi, who took me to the National School of Drama (NSD) in Delhi and urged me to join NSD after graduating from Aligarh Muslim University.
“Prof Zaidi had then urged me to pursue a career in theaters and acting as she recognized my talents,” said Shah. He added that Prof Zaidi taught him that the real idea of theatre is to send across a message to the audience, which need not be done with music, set designs and all the glamour.
He further said that theatres have started replicating films by depending on set designs to show different scenes and somewhere the basic message of the theatres has been lost. Shah said that Prof Zaidi once told him that theatre has been present since the days of early humans, who use to narrate hunting experiences in dramatic ways and the real theatre continues to be the same where the message is presented in a ‘one-to-one’ way by the protagonist to the audience.
During the conclusion of his lecture, Shah said that the definition of remarkable people is that when they have more knowledge than other, they want to share it. “Prof Zaidi is no doubt the most remarkable person, I have ever come across in my life,” said Shah.
While presiding over the function, AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt General Zameer Uddin Shah (Veteran) said that often people ask him as to how his brother, Naseeruddin Shah became an actor. “I always quipped that my brother ran away from home to become an actor, but the reality is that he was lucky to attend AMU under the guidance of his teacher, Professor Zaidi, who showed him the right path to his career,” said General Shah.
He added that he can proudly say that his brother is best and the most versatile of actors in India and he never misses any of his movies.
General Shah pointed out that the success, Naseeruddin Shah has received is because of the values, he learnt as a student in AMU.
While concluding his speech, General Shah pointed out that we have laid the foundation of progress in AMU and soon the University will reach the number one rank in Indian universities.
During the welcome address, Professor Seemin Hasan, Chairperson, Department of English, AMU pointed out that her association with Zahida Zaidi goes back to 40 years and it is matter of honor that today Professor Zaidi’s student, Naseeruddin Shah is delivering the first ‘Professor Zahida Zaidi Memorial Lecture.’
While conducting the program, Professor F S Sheerani, who was the program coordinator said that MAO College Theatre Society was established by the University founder Sir Syed Ahmad Khan and on one of the occasions; Sir Syed acted in a play held at Aligarh’s Annual Exhibition to collect funds for the University.
Meanwhile, the Raleigh Literary Society associated with the Department of English, AMU staged a play, ‘The witches and other Confusions- A comedy of Terrors’ in the Kennedy Hall Auditorium.