Naseeruddin Shah is a renowned Hindi film and theatre actor who has also acted in Bengali, Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Pakistani and Hollywood films. Naseeruddin Shah is the son of Aley Mohammed Shah and Farrukh Sultana and younger brother of Zameeruddin Shah, a retired lieutenant general of the Indian army who was vice-chancellor of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Naseeruddin Shah’s first wife was the late Parveen Murad aka Manara Sikri. Their daughter is the actress Heeba Shah. In 1982, Shah married actress-director Ratna Pathak. They have two sons, Imaaduddin and Vivaan. His nephew, Major Mohommed Ali Shah, a former soldier, is a theatre and film actor. His nephew, Salim Shah, is also an actor.

Naseeruddin Shah studied at St Anselm's, Ajmer, and St Joseph's College, Nainital. He completed his BA from AMU in 1971 and then attended the National School of Drama, Delhi.

He has acted in over 100 Indian films and is known for his work in the 1970s and 1980s movement known as ‘parallel’ cinema.

Shah made his acting debut with Shyam Benegal’s National award-winning Hindi drama Nishant (1975). In the 1980s, he acted in over three dozen movies, including Hum Paanch (1980), Dil Aakhir Dil Hai (1982), Ardh Satya (1983), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Masoom (1983), Mirch Masala (1985), Ghulami (1985), Karma (1986), Jalwa (1987), Ijaazat (1987), The Perfect Murder (1988), Pestonjee (1988), Maalamaal (1988), Hero Hiralal (1988) and Tridev (1989).

Naseeruddin Shah is particularly known for his strong roles in movies like Sai Paranjpye's Sparsh (1980), Bazaar (1982), Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Masoom (1983), Mohra (1994), Sarfarosh (1999), Iqbal (2005) and A Wednesday (2008).

His international work includes The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) with an ensemble cast that included Sean Connery and The Great New Wonderful (2005).

Shah has acted in Bengali films like Protidan (1983), Khashi Katha: A Goat Saga (2012) and the Bengali-Hindi bilingual Sunglass / Taak Jhaank (2013). He has acted in two Gujarati films — Bhavni Bhavai (1980) and the children’s film Dhh (2017). He starred in the movie The Hungry (2017), a modern adaptation of Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare, screened at the Toronto International Film Festival 2017.

Additionally, he has acted in Pakistani films like the acclaimed and controversial Khuda Kay Liye (2007), Zinda Bhaag (2013) and Jeewan Hathi (2016).

Along with the late Tom Alter and Benjamin Gilani, Shah founded a theatre group, Motley Productions, in 1977. He has directed plays written by Sa’adat Hasan Manto, Lavender Kumar and Ismat Chughtai. In 2006, he directed the movie Yun Hota Toh Kya Hota starring Irrfan Khan and Konkana Sensharma.

Naseeruddin Shah played the title role in the television series Mirza Ghalib written and produced by Gulzar in 1988. In 1989, he played Shivaji in the television series Bharat Ek Khoj. He has hosted episodes of the show Turning Point, a weekly science magazine on Doordarshan in 1991. He played the role of a special agent in the series Tarkash (1999) on Zee TV.

In 2014, he wrote his autobiography titled And Then One Day: A Memoir.

Naseeruddin Shah is a recipient of both the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards for his contribution to Indian cinema. His vast array of awards includes three National Film awards, three Filmfare awards, a Venice Film Festival award, the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, and an International Indian Film Academy Award.