Garam Hawa to Shanghai: Remembering the films of Farooque Shaikh

Farooque Shaikh was was one of the finest actors India has known and someone who could effortlessly bring out the nuances of a role whether he was working in an art film or a commercial entertainer. Despite his popularity and talent, Shaikh was selective about the films he made. As a result, most of his films are well worth watching, but in memoriam, here are five of our favourite Farooque Shaikh films. Garam Hawa Director MS Sathyu decided to cast Shaikh as Sikander in his landmark film about post-partition India after seeing a young Shaikh’s act in Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) plays_. Garam Hawa_ was about the difficult decisions that a north Indian Muslim family has to take at a time when the subcontinent was being torn apart along religious lines. The Mirzas have been in Agra for generations, but after Partition, as communal violence and discrimination stains the fabric of Indian society, they must choose whether they will stay on in India or move to Pakistan. Shaikh as Sikander played the young, idealist brother who believes India is still home even though he is repeatedly told that Muslims are better off choosing Pakistan over India. He’s rejected at job interviews, his family suffers terribly, but Sikander remains steadfast in his belief that India is where the Mirzas belong. Garam Hawa is perhaps one of the most moving films made about identity, belonging and politics, and at the heart of the film is the radiant, determined idealism of Sheikh’s Sikander. Chashme Baddoor [caption id=“attachment_1311383” align=“alignright” width=“380”]  Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval from a Chashme Baddoor scene[/caption] Farooq Sheikh and Deepti Naval made one of Indian cinema’s most charming romantic couples onscreen and Sai Paranjpye’s Chashme Baddoor saw the duo at their sweetest. This simple romantic comedy is feelgood cinema at its finest. Siddharth (Sheikh) and Neha (Naval) are a classic case of opposites attract, but they have to deal with Siddharth’s meddlesome friends before they can reach their happy ending. Sheikh as the timid and nervous bookworm Siddharth, who is spellbound by Neha’s effervescence, was hilarious and endearing. If you’re ever in need of a pick-me-up, watch Siddharth and Neha’s first meeting in which Neha shows up at Siddharth’s doorstep as a salesgirl for Chamko detergent powder. Chashme Baddoor was made in 1981, but it still sparkles with the wit and warmth that made it such a favourite when it first released. Umrao Jaan Set in the 19th century, the original Umrao Jaan by Muzaffar Ali is a gorgeous presentation of the crumbling, decadent era when Mughal power was giving way to British dominance. Sheikh played the role of Nawab Sultan, who falls in love with Rekha’s ravishing Umrao. But for all his aristocratic flair, Nawab Sultan doesn’t have the strength of character to marry a courtesan, Instead, he submits to the marriage arranged by his family and breaks Umrao’s heart. When Umrao suggests that they stay in touch once he’s married — it wasn’t unusual for an aristocrat to have a lover or courtesan on the side — he tells her that his mother wouldn’t approve. Shaikh had later joked that he looked more like a “halwai ka beta” (son of a confectioner) than a “nawab ka beta” (son of a nawab), but he got the character of Nawab Sultan superbly. Umrao Jaan was very much Rekha’s film, with Shaikh and the other male actors making up a fine supporting cast. It’s a testament to Shaikh’s nose for good cinema that he was happy to do such an unheroic role and to Shaikh’s acting skills that you can’t help but be infuriated by Nawab Sultan’s spinelessness. Bazaar Directed by Shaikh’s old friend Sagar Sarhadi, Bazaar is a searing look at the way women are turned into commodities that can be bought and sold by lustful, rich men. Sarhadi is better known for having written films like Kabhi Kabhi and it’s a shame that Bazaar, his debut as a director, is largely forgotten. Starring Smita Patil, Bazaar presented an unflinching look at how wealth has become more important than humanity, and how young women are treated like sex objects by the moneyed, privileged set in our society. Farooq Shaikh was again a supporting actor who made the film his own because of his powerful performance. He played the role of Smita Patil’s brother Sarju, whose love story, with Shabnam (Supriya Pathak) is both beautiful and heartbreaking. As a young man with little money to his name, Sarju is a worthless candidate for Shabnam’s hand even though the Pathak and Shaikh love each other. Theirs is an innocent, tender love that is crushed and mutilated by the ugly greed of society; and it makes Bazaar unforgettable. Shanghai Untempted by the roles he was being offered and the films that were being made, Shaikh chose to step away from cinema in the 1990s and was spotted on screen only occasionally. However, he made a comeback of sorts in 2008 when he acted in Saas Bahu Aur Sensex. But it was his performance in Shanghai as a senior bureaucrat named Kaul, who is Abhay Deol’s boss, that made everyone sat up and cheer. In Dibakar Banerjee’s powerful film about corruption and politics in contemporary India, Shaikh was outstanding as the sly, self-serving bureaucrat who can smile sweetly while crushing someone underfoot. Kaul was unscrupulous, yes, but he also radiated a certain cultural polish that established his being privileged and made him a formidable opponent. The way Shaikh could play with words as Kaul and smoothly and subtly turn the tables on his opponent made him strangely charming despite his villainy. Yet again, Shaikh took a minor character and fleshed it out to become so sharply real that despite the fact that his role wasn’t central, he was the one you remembered vividly.