Naseeruddin Shah & Ratna Pathak on Why Urdu is Dying in Cinema
Urdu in Bollywood feels quieter today. In this Guftugu conversation, Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah join author and literary critic Saif Mahmood to talk about what changed, and what we lose with it.
Naseeruddin shares his journey from Aligarh to playing Mirza Ghalib. He laughs about first using poetry to impress a girlfriend, then finding its real depth. Ratna speaks about learning Urdu diction for theatre, and why writers like Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto still feel modern.
They also critique today’s cinema. Realism that often sounds mumbled, and titles that no longer carry a poetic ring. The chat moves through India’s salad bowl of languages and ends with a live recital of Ghalib’s humorous petition to a king.
Naseeruddin shares his journey from Aligarh to playing Mirza Ghalib. He laughs about first using poetry to impress a girlfriend, then finding its real depth. Ratna speaks about learning Urdu diction for theatre, and why writers like Ismat Chughtai and Saadat Hasan Manto still feel modern.
They also critique today’s cinema. Realism that often sounds mumbled, and titles that no longer carry a poetic ring. The chat moves through India’s salad bowl of languages and ends with a live recital of Ghalib’s humorous petition to a king.
