MUMBAI: Given the manner in which Farooque Shaikh kept a hawk eye on political developments, given the way he nurtured even a casual acquaintance for years, he might seem to be a likely candidate for politics. Only the lack of artifice and greed would have proved a singular disadvantage.
Thursday's tribute to Shaikh Sahab by IFTDA saw a testimony by Suhail Tatari who had directed him in a political TV serial named 'Kashmeer' way back in 2002 but continued to remain on his list of friends always.
The Kashmir issue was a subject that the actor identified closely with. In an interview in 2002, shortly after he had signed this serial, he had said, "Everyone has a viewpoint on Kashmir -- Pakistan, the West, our own government, and the Kashmiri people. Unfortunately, the people's voice seems to hold the lowest priority."
Shaikh Sahab had more than a passing acquaintance with several Parliamentarians, yet he had the courage of conviction to express his opinion against them. But he dismissed the idea that entering politics was the next logical step for someone who held such strong opinions as he. "I am not as self-sacrificing as one needs to be to join politics. I would need to devote my life to it and set a match to my other interests like acting. And God forbid, if I become a minister, how am I expected to run my family on the paltry official salary an MP gets? I don't have it in me to turn Rs 11,000 into Rs 11 lakh in a dishonest way."
'Kashmeer' was director Tatari's first major project and it featured senior film stars like Shaikh, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Suresh Oberoi. Understandably he was anxious. Speaking at last week's memorial he said, "There were also a few young, non-serious actors that were part of the cast. I as captain of the ship was apologetic but Shaikh Sahab never lost patience despite having to endure multiple retakes. He never took the convenient route of asking me to shoot his close-ups and get on with the rest later."
Instead this unit like countless others before it, received his abundant generosity. "One day as we were shooting, Shaikh Sahab sought my permission to leave the sets for 15 minutes. We did not ask why, of course we agreed. When he returned he was accompanied by men carrying large 'degh's (vats) of sumptuous food for the entire unit. I was awestruck because this was the first time I had ever seen an actor bring food for the whole unit. It wasn't the last time, though. About two times a month Shaikh Sahab would politely say, 'Main zara pandrah minute... jaaoon?' and we would say, 'Ji Sir, zuroor', gleefully knowing that we were in for another treat! Sure enough, he would come back with some special delicacy."
"I remember in Dehradun he treated us to 'tarak murgh'. While we were returning to the set, he said there was a very nice bakery somewhere in the vicinity and could we please step in for two minutes. We went in, and he began to buy up almost the whole shop. In fact a local lady who had come to buy bread gasped like a fish to see Farooque Shaikh buying stuff in her neighbourhood bakery."
Long after the assignment ended Tatari continued to receive festival wishes over SMS. "You could never beat Shaikh Sahab at being the first to send greetings. Everytime I was determined to be the first to write, but he always got there before me," the director said.
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