No one left for Nasiruddin Shah to idealise

A few months back Nasiruddin Shah was denounced over his remarks on late Rajesh Khanna. The same Nasir was eulogising late Om Puri for attaining perfection in acting. The magnanimity shown poses striking contrast to the so-called meanness he expressed over Rajesh. Is he doing so deliberately to counteract his previous scathing remarks? May be not. May be all he did was ask for a fair deal, which neither he nor his beloved friend Om got in their acting career. Although fame did not treat Nasir and Om fairly, for Nasir's surreal consolation; death, the great leveller, did not discriminate his friend Om unfairly from his so-called foe Rajesh. In that way, Nasir has no one left to idealise, but has nothing to mourn over Om either. Om, rest in peace.     

Although newly distanced by death, the two long time friends had one factor in common – controversy. Nasir gained negative attention for his disdain towards contemporary Bollywood commercial movie superstars, whereas Om was criticised for the allegations of scandals made by his wife and his recent politically incorrect statement on Indian soldiers. The irony is, in spite of being the champion of Indian parallel movies, Om refused to resort to acting in real life when seriously needed. He had deep distrust to dishonesty which nowadays we common folk equate to acting. To Om, acting was all about honesty, integrity, sincerity and dedication towards the art. Acting was not pretending to him, he was neither in the business of mere imitating; he was true to acting. Likewise, he was true to life. He spoke his mind directly and frankly. When he went to Pakistan and was interviewed there, he defended India at the risk of nearly offending Pakistanis. And when his dear friend Nasir once asked him why he kept accepting insignificant roles in movies where Nasir was the lead, he answered directly that he accepted the roles not for the sake of friendship but for the fact that he had confidence in the films. Om, undoubtedly you have been a great friend to Nasir, but a greater friend to films. 

Om, taking a stroll down memory lane, I recall your highly acclaimed dialogue of the film "Maachis" – 'I don't want revolution after 100 years, I need revolution now because I am a selfish man'. Om, you proved you are a selfish man. You could not forgo the temptation of revolting against "Life", oh yes - the monotonous breathing acts of the decaying life, the mundane repetitive acts of managing the irreconcilable differences with loved ones of this life. Om, you great actor, who always sought after great pieces of acts; we salute you for rejecting the menial acts that life had lately started offering you. Some would argue, you succumbed to drinking to avoid the perils of life, that you are an escapist. I, your ardent fan, would say – Om, our hero, chose to stand up to death rather than stoop down to life. Om, you are my superstar.