We haven’t seen too much of Naseer’s impeccable comic timing since Jaane Bhi Do Yaaron. The maestro of the performing arts feels comedy is a serious business. “Comedy is way more difficult that than the serious stuff, in fact I always tell my students that the easiest thing an actor is asked to do is to cry –and all actors LOVE to cry!–but even some experienced and excellent actors have trouble laughing .Watch Sanjeev Kumar in Shatranj Ke Khiladi, for example.”
Many actors, feels Naseer, don’t understand the mechanics of laughter. “What happens to the breath and so on when one laughs. Crying is easy because the actor can just recall a past incident, however disconnected the context may be, and the tears begin to flow. Serious actors are held in higher regard because they are.. well.. serious! Mehmood sahab in my opinion was one of the most gifted actors Hindi cinema has ever had yet he is remembered only as a comedian.”
