Naseeruddin Shah admits to using Filmfare awards to craft door handles for his farmhouse: ‘I don’t find any value in these trophies’

“I don’t find any value in these trophies. I was happy when I received the initial ones. But then, trophies started piling up around me. Sooner or later I understood that these awards are a result of lobbying. One is receiving these awards not necessarily because of their merit. So I started leaving them behind. After that, when I received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, it reminded me of my deceased father who used to always be worried about my job and said things like ‘if you do this useless work, you will become a fool’. So, when I went to Rashtrapati Bhavan to collect the awards, I looked up and asked my dad if he was seeing all this… He was… and I am sure he was happy… I was happy to receive those awards. But I can’t stand these competitive awards,” the actor pointed out.

“Any actor who has put their life and effort into portraying a role is a good actor. If you just pick one person from the lot and say that ‘this is the best actor of the year’, how’s it fair? I am not proud of those awards. I did not even go collect the last two awards I received. So, when I built a farmhouse I decided to put these awards there. Whoever goes to the washroom will get two awards each as the handles are made of the Filmfare awards,” he added.

During the conversation, Naseeruddin Shah also discussed his complex relationship with his late father, Aley Mohammed, revealing that he was unable to ever bridge the gap that existed between them. The actor shared his regret of not being by his father’s side during his last moments and revealed how he tried to communicate with him after his passing.

The 72-year-old thespian also looked back on the unflattering comments that he had made about late actor Dilip Kumar shortly after his death and said that he stands by what he said. Pointing out that death invites warm eulogies, Shah said it, however, should also open the door for some truthful analysis of a person and their legacy.