💬 Naseeruddin Shah and the no baths story from Chakra

Last week I read that Naseeruddin Shah reportedly skipped baths for weeks while shooting an old film. Gulshan Grover joked about it on a TV show, saying he could never do that. He takes 2 or 3 baths a day, apparently, and he said so with a straight face. I laughed, then I put my phone down and thought, how would you even do that. In my final year of college I played a beggar in a drama at the annual day. My teacher told us to stay in character. I decided that meant not shaving for a week. By day 4 my mother wouldn't let me sit near the dining table. My roommate moved his bed. The play lasted 12 minutes. I'm still not sure if it was worth it. I'm not saying what he did is the same, obviously. I did it for a week, for a college stage. But I understood a little of it. Once you look the part, you stop acting and just stand there. Walking around the market in those clothes, people really did avoid me. I felt strange for hours. A shopkeeper gave me a free cup of water and didn't say a word. Still, going for weeks without a bath sounds hard on the body and hard on the people around you. I'd like to know what the crew thought, whether anyone said anything on set. Do you think that kind of commitment is worth it, or is it a bit much for a film? My father says actors back then were more serious. I say they were just braver or a bit crazy.

Your beggar role story is great. I'm laughing at the bed moving. I did something similar in a school play. I wore 1 costume for 3 days and my sister avoided me.

Weeks without a bath sounds extreme to me. I'd get itchy after 2 days, never mind weeks. Method acting is fine, but health has to come first, and somebody on set should have said something. My cousin in a theatre group refused to fast for a role. His director just rewrote the scene. That seems like the better way to handle it, in my opinion.