Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah recently reflected on the unexpected fame he gained from the 1989 hit film Tridev, particularly its iconic song “Oye Oye,” which brought him mainstream recognition despite his lack of dancing skills. In a candid recounting, Shah discussed how the success of the song led to offers he deliberately turned down, citing his discomfort with commercial cinema expectations like lip-syncing, dancing, and playing stereotypical hero roles.
Emphasizing his passion for realistic character-driven performances, Shah also shared his frustration with being typecast in emotionally intense roles, revealing his struggles to find depth in such repetitive portrayals.
Naseeruddin Shah On His Success
In an old interview, Shah shared how ironic it felt to become famous for a flashy dance number, despite having no dancing background.
“In fact, after the song Oye Oye, I was flooded with only offers like that. People wanted me to do the same thing. But I didn’t fall into that trap because I’m a terrible dancer,” he admitted.
He believes the song’s success had more to do with the surprise factor. “Oye Oye worked because they didn’t expect that I would be even able to do one step right. And that’s why they were shocked, and it worked.”
Struggles with Singing and Commercial Expectations
Shah also opened up about the discomfort he felt during the era when lip-syncing was a requirement. “I was asked to sing, and that was equivalent to a hundred deaths. I’m really bad at singing… among the worst singers of songs in Hindi.” He noted that he never envisioned himself as a typical “hero” in Indian cinema, especially not one romancing much younger actresses or dancing on screen.
“Perhaps because I never thought that I would have to play hero in films, or sing songs, or worse, romance actresses younger than my daughter’s age.” Shah, who always aspired to do realistic character roles, admitted, “I had thought I would end up becoming a character actor… a lawyer, doctor, cop, or elder brother. That’s why I’m terrible at commercial acting, because I never trained for it.”
He also expressed frustration about being typecast into emotionally heavy roles. “They only imagined me as the actor who could scream and cry… and I didn’t know how to bring novelty to such mediocrity.”
