Naseeruddin Shah wishes ‘more strength’ to student protestors

Over a month after posting an impassioned video condemning the police crackdown on students protesting over alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the NEET-UG exams, Naseeruddin Shah has a new message for student protestors. “I wish these kids all the best, and I wish them more strength,” the veteran actor told HT City on the sidelines of the launch of Mahmood Farooqui’s memoir The Tihar Players, in the Capital on Sunday. Asked if he believes such protests could change the state of affairs, he said, “This kind of protest will definitely work.”Naseeruddin Shah wishes ‘more strength’ to student protestorsIn his July video, Shah had compared Delhi Police personnel who lathi-charged students to American ICE agents, and also took a dig at A-l actors who chose silence during the protests. His message drew criticism from Kangana Ranaut and Piyush Mishra.At the event, the 76-year-old praised a theatrical performance former Tihar Jail inmates, saying, “Seldom have I seen this much truth in a performance, performed those who have gained redemption.”Over the years, Shah has mentored several actors in the Indian film and theatre industry. During an on-stage interaction with Farooqui, who held drama classes during his own prison time at the Tihar Jail, Shah said, “I find that many of my student actors struggle to shed their inhibitions even in simple exercises such as drinking from an imaginary cup, and the women resort to crying after reading an imaginary break-up letter from their boyfriends, mainly because they join these classes to get a job. But I’m sure you didn’t get this struggle in the jail.”He also recalled his own years at boarding school, likening that experience to being in jail. He recounted how punishments there were far harsher than what students face today. “The teachers today would be arrested,” he quipped.