Naseeruddin Shah reveals film industry’s ‘bitter truth’, calls exhibitors, distributors ‘darinde’ : ‘Those who work…’

They have spent their entire life in a dark room to entertain and need to be applauded, actor Naseeruddin Shah said at an event to honour three projectionists while also pointing to the ‘bitter truth’ of an industry that often does not recognise those who work behind the scenes.

It is disheartening that people who play a pivotal role in a film’s success are not recognised in the film industry for their contribution, Shah said Wednesday evening at the event organised by the Film Heritage Foundation.

The veteran actor, who was chief guest at the evening where audiences also watched a rerun of filmmaker Kamal Amrohi’s 1949 movie Mahal, lauded the not-for-profit organisation for recognising the work of film projectionists.

The FHF awarded projectionist Lakhan Lal Yadav from Raipur, P A Salam from Pune’s National Film Archives of India (NFAI), and Mohammed Aslam Fakih of Regal Cinema, Mumbai, with the lifetime achievement award and Rs 50,000 each.

“They have spent their entire life in a dark room for all of us, to entertain us, we should applaud them,” the veteran actor said. “I am thankful to Shivendra Dungarpur (FHF founder) and his team for recognising these people. I am here as an audience, I am grateful to have met and interacted with them,” he added.

The screen icon said the movie industry neglects the hard work and contribution of technicians and other important people. “The bitter truth of the film industry is that those who work hard a lot during the making of the film, like light men and others, their income is not much. This is the nature of the beast. The issue is this thing remains the same even post the release of the movie.

“For instance, if a film is successful, then distributors and exhibitors take the major share of the profit. Those who help achieve this (success), no one cares about them. They are not even awarded,” Shah said at South Mumbai’s Regal Cinema.

The event was followed by a special screening of Mahal, starring Ashok Kumar and Madhubala. The film revolved around an aristocrat (Kumar) who moves into an ancient mansion, where he gets visions of a mysterious lady (Madhubala) claiming to be his lover in their previous lives.

Among those who attended were Amrohi’s son Tajdar Amrohi, filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia, veteran actor Amol Palekar, late Shashi Kapoor’s son Kunal Kapoor and Neila Devi, wife of late Shammi Kapoor.

Mahal was screened by Fakih on the 35 mm vintage print to celebrate the analogue-era legacy of cinema at Regal Cinema. Tajdar Amrohi narrated an anecdote about what went behind the making of Mahal. (With inputs from PTI)