In 1982, he married his second wife, actress Ratna Pathak, daughter of actress Dina Pathak, with whom he has two sons. His sister-in-law is actress Supriya Pathak, who is married to actor Pankaj Kapur.
He has acted in several multi-star Bollywood films as well, such as Ghulami (1985), Tridev (1989) and Vishwatma (1992). In 1994, he acted as the villain in Mohra, his 100th film as an actor. He forayed into Malayalam cinema the same year, through T. V. Chandran's drama Ponthan Mada. The film portrayed the irrational bonding of a feudal serf (played by Mammootty) and a colonial landlord (played by Shah). He strongly believed that the distinction between art and commercial films had largely reduced, especially with the directors of the former also making commercial films. In 2000, Shah played Mahatma Gandhi in Kamal Haasan's Hey Ram[11] which focused on the assassination of Gandhi from the assailant's point of view.
Shah played Mohit, the drunken coach to a deaf and mute boy in Iqbal. Shah was noted for his roles in the 1999 Aamir Khan-starrer Sarfarosh, where he played Gulfam Hassan – a ghazal singer-cum-terrorist mastermind — and in Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday (2008).
In mid 1990s, Shah also hosted some episodes of science magazine programme Turning Point.[16]
In 1999, he acted as a special agent in the TV series Tarkash on Zee TV. He played a retired agent haunted by nightmares who is re-inducted as he apparently knows something about a dreaded terrorist somehow connected with his past. He played the villain with the dual identity of a ghazal singer and a Pakistani spy who supports terrorism in India in Sarfarosh (1999).[17] He was the first of several celebrity actors, who played narrator in the popular audiobook series for kids Karadi Tales.[18] He along with wife Ratna was the narrator in the film Paheli — the Indian entry to the 2006 Academy Awards.[19]
In 2017, Shah returned to film, starring in Shakespearean adaption The Hungry, screened under special presentations at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.[20] He also acted as lead in The Coffin Maker directed by Veena Bakshi, which however never got released in public but only remained for private viewership.[21]
Shah was married to Manara Sikri and had a daughter, Heeba Shah, with her. In the 1970s, Shah met and fell in love with Ratna Pathak, the daughter of Dina Pathak, a well-respected character actress. During the 70s and 80s they co-starred in several films, including Mirch Masala and The Perfect Murder.[22] They were in a live-in relationship for many years, while Shah put together the mehr required to divorce Manara. Shah and Pathak were finally married in 1982.[23] By his second marriage, Shah has two sons, Imaad and Vivaan, both of whom are actors. The couple lives in Mumbai with Heeba, Imaad and Vivaan.[24]
In an interview with HT Brunch, Shah speaks about having thought about an autobiography for almost 10 years. He penned down his thoughts occasionally during this period until he finally came up with 100-odd pages. What had started as an amusing pastime had clearly grown into something much deeper. He then presented the unfinished version to his friend, historian Ramchandra Guha, who encouraged Shah to complete it and send it to a publication house.[25] Shah's memoir is titled And Then One Day, and was published by Hamish Hamilton.[26]
Bibliography
Shah, Naseeruddin (2014). And then one day: A Memoir. Hamish Hamilton.
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