Karachi, 23 February: Oxford University Press launched the autobiography of the award-winning Indian film and stage actor and director, Naseeruddin Shah. Entitled And Then One Day: A Memoir, Naseeruddin Shah’s sparkling account of his early years covers his extraordinary journey from a feudal hamlet near Meerut, to Catholic schools in Nainital and Ajmer and finally to stage and film stardom in Mumbai. Along the way, he recounts his passages through Aligarh University, the National School of Drama and the Film and Television Institute of India, where his luck finally began to change. And Then One Day tells a compelling tale, written with rare honesty, consummate elegance, and tongue in cheek humour. There are moving portraits of family members, darkly funny accounts of his school days and vivid cameos of directors and actors he has worked with, among them Ebrahim Alkazi, Shyam Bengal, Girish Karnad, Om Puri and Shabana Azmi. Brimming with delightful anecdotes as well as poignant, often painful revelations, this book is a tour de force.
Naseeruddin Shah has been an actor in films since 1975, and an actor-director-teacher in theatre almost as long, having played the lead in over two hundred feature films and more than sixty professional theatre productions, both in India and abroad. He is the recipient of numerous awards.
The launch ceremony featured a stimulating discussion between Naseeruddin Shah and the film director and screenwriter, Menu Gaur. With remarkable candidness and objective
self-assessment, Naseeruddin Shah narrated his struggle to earn a living through acting, his experiments with the craft, his successes, and failures. In her welcome address, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director, Oxford University Press Pakistan, said that And then One Day is very well written and highly readable. ‘The style is warm, open, and remarkably candid. Shah-Sahib, whatever his fame and stature, does not suffer from either reticence or an inflated ego.’ she further added. Naz Ikramullah, a practising visual artist, also spoke on the occasion.