When Naseeruddin Shah Took A Dig At Robert De Niro’s Prep Work For This Cult Classic Film

Naseeruddin Shah is a seasoned actor who has created a huge impact with his sublime performances among cinephiles, not just in India but across the world. The 74-year-old actor has displayed his acting prowess in myriad films, including Sparsh, Iqbal, Masoon, Katha, Sarfarosh, and Mirch Masala.

In an earlier interview with Hindustan Times, the National Film Award-winning actor was once asked about method acting and a film where he was crazily involved with a character he had essayed, which was hard to get out of. And, like always, he mingled no words to express his blunt opinion. That’s when he candidly remarked about an immensely popular role played by the legendary Hollywood actor Robert De Niro.

What Was That Robert De Niro Movie and Role?

The film’s name was Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, which released in 1976 and eventually gained cult status among movie buffs. About the Hollywood actor’s prep work, Naseeruddin Shah said that for playing the role of a taxi driver, there was no need for Robert De Niro to practise it for two years. And that he could have done it for six months or two months, and he still would have figured the character out.

Just for the sake of clarity, Naseeruddin Shah never said that Robert De Niro’s performance was not great, but instead remarked on the duration and intensity of the prep work that an actor needs to do to get into the character. And he cited the example of Robert De Niro’s prep work for his role in Taxi Driver.

Did Robert De Niro Win An Oscar For Taxi Driver?

Robert De Niro was nominated for the Academy Awards in the Best Actor category for playing the titular character in Taxi Driver, but sadly, he couldn’t win. He lost the Best Actor Oscar Award to Peter Finch, who bagged it for the highly rated dark comedy film Network.

Taxi Driver Plot, Critical Acclaim & Where to Stream

Helmed by Martin Scorsese, the neo-noir psychological drama follows the story of an insomniac, mentally disturbed man, Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), who works as a taxi driver in New York City during the night. He becomes more disillusioned by the day and thinks of ‘cleaning’ the city using violent ways.

Taxi Driver was a critical and commercial success. The film holds a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 89% and an IMDb user rating of 8.2/10. You can stream the movie on the Sony Pictures channel on Amazon Prime Video.

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