Ardha Satya : Mike Lobo, Actor is The Naseeruddin Shah
3.5 scenes in the film and he still deserves to be called as The Naseeruddin Shah!
Simply because of his brilliant portrayal of Inspector Mike Lobo. “Short role can still be great” is proved by Naseeruddin Shah in Ardha Satya.
Mike Lobo is often discussed among policemen before he actually appears on screen. In the present time, he is a broken man, a drunkard who was suspended from the police department because he could not do compromises with the usual functioning of the department and tried to work in his own manners. He was too rebellious. Its told by other policemen that he used to say that whoever would come between he and his duty he would have to face his wrath. Whoever was found against his opinion of law and order, he fought with him. Vested interests could not bear his presence in the police force and he was suspended under the excuse of his drinking habits.
AV has heard about him but he does not recognise him. First time he meets Mike Lobo in a restaurant where he finds counter clerk (KK Raina) is involved in an argument with a man because man has eaten the food and now he says he has no money to pay and he will pay it later.
Restaurant security man tries to man handle Mike Lobo and he shouts and caution not to touch him as he is a police officer.
Witnessing this AV reaches there to know the whole matter.
Amazing performance is given by Naseer in this scene.
AV is in his uniform and both KK Raina and Mike Lobo can easily identify that he is a police officer.
Mike is very angry with KK Raina and security man. Mike’s body language changes in a moment as soon as he finds that AV, a police man is there. When AV asks the matter and pays his bill to KK Raina then Mike is exhibiting mixed emotions, he is ashamed, he is angry and frustrated but he still has arrogance of a police officer. So many emotions can not be expressed by a simple actor and an actor of very high calibre is required to do that and Naseer simply lifts the level of that scene and makes it an amazing and memorable scene.
Mike sees that AV is paying bill on his behalf. He does not wish to sound complete loser to an unknown police officer and he takes a straight posture and keeps his hands on his waist and asks in a typical style of a police officer,
” May I know your good name, Officer?”
AV replies,” Sub Inspector Anant Velankar“.
I am Lobo, Inspector Mike Lobo…under suspension since 1979 for the charges of consuming alcohol during duty hours and creating nuisance.
He says this with staring directly in to the eyes of AV.
He looks stern when asks AV,
” Anything else you want to know officer”.
AV says politely,”No Sir.”
AV’s balanced behaviour calms Mike Lobo down. But now he shows us a new face of his character.
Entirely different body language and facial expressions and he says to AV,
” Officer can you lend me some money. I have got no money on my own. I will return you this whenever we meet next”.
When AV lends him some money then ML tries to be friendly with AV and offers him to accompany him for a drink somewhere. AV politely refuses his offer and ML is bit frustrated and he takes his leaves with bit angry tone.
* * * *
If one tries to look constantly in to the eyes of simple pet animals like dogs then one may observe that one can not do it for long because when they find their beloved masters looking in to their eyes they bring so humble feelings in their eyes that one starts feeling something inside and one has to look away. One feels melting inside the heart. One feels compassion inside with dog’s completely innocent response to the looking in to his eyes.
Hunters should witness these situations when they go to kill deers and does like innocent animals, just before their killing they should have those feelings in their eyes which can stop a human but normally hunters go in to the forest with a pre occupied mind and a mission and their humanity does not count animals as living creature at that time.
Anyway in his second appearance on screen Naseeruddin Shah brings those humble expressions in his eyes.
In the porch of a hotel, AV has sat in the taxi along with his senior Inspector Haider Ali (Shafi Inamdar) and one more colleague and Mike Lobo reaches there and tries to stop the taxi. AV asks driver to stop the taxi and ML requests to them.
ML,” Excuse me gentlemen. Please help me. Give me some money. My wife died this evening only. I need money to bury her. Please help a good cause. Give me fifty rupees or even five. Any amount will do”.
This is a scene where Naseeruddin Shah proves why he is famous as a brilliant actor?
A perfect performance that is perfectly suitable to quote as an example while teaching acting in the acting schools.
All the three policemen sitting inside the taxi know very well that Mike Lobo is not saying truth and Mike also knows that they know about his lies but still he tries to take money from them. He is well aware of his pathetic conditions but he can not live without alcohol and he has to arrange money by this way only.
* * *
Third time he comes on screen when AV reaches a Cigarrette shop and headlights of his motorcycle falls on Mike Lobo, who is lying outside a desi liquour shop. ML gets up in anger and screams on the person who has thrown light on his eyes. He is abusing the culprit. AV identifies him and switch offs the head lights.
The last moments when Mike Lobo calms down a little but under the heavy effect of liquor he is murmuring something, are wonderfully performed by Naseeruddin Shah.
And last scene should be counted as half because he is there for few seconds only lying as a dead body of Mike Lobo.
Mike Lobo’s past and present is used as a metaphor also to caution Anant Velankar. AV’s colleagues try to make him understand that he should learn from the pathetic conditions of Mike Lobo.
If AV does not find peace with police department’s functioning style then he can also face similar ending.
* * *
Naseeruddin Shah has made all the three scenes memorable. He gives such a brilliant performance in such a small role that it has to be said that such are the performances which raise an awakening in the audience in a film and they suddenly sit straight on their seats inside the darkness of cinema halls because something remarkable is happening on the screen.
Its not the length of the role but the quality of the performance that attracts attention of an open minded audience.
1983 was a remarkable year for both Naseeruddin Shah and Om Puri. Both the great actors had done wonder in Mandi, Jane Bhee Do yaron also. Same year Naseer had shown his great acting skills in Paar and Bazaar also
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First part – Ardha Satya : Silver Jubilee remembrance–Part 1
second part –
Ardha Satya: Rama Shetty = Hand pump, spreading poison all around
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
i think i missed so many things in film…i ll c it again…
i ve not seen many art films of nasirudin shah… only 2-3
films…
i liked him in katha nd masoom
i saw his jalwa also…he was gud there…
nd 1 film chamtkar with srk..nasir was a ghost like big b was in bhutnath…
i liked him in sarfarosh also…
i did nt like him in krish…mere bap pehle aap…
Finally someone appreciated Mike Lobo’s character with all the colors it deserves. Brilliant observations Rk, with Naseeruddin Shah, credits also go to Mr. Tendulkar and Mr. Nihalani.
“All the three policemen sitting inside the taxi know very well that Mike Lobo is not saying truth and Mike also knows that they know about his lies but still he tries to take money from them.”
I always felt that Mike Lobo’s alcohol-driven mind would refuse to recognize the 3 policemen sitting in the car. I mean yes, the interpretation can be different, but guess with so much alcohol in your system, you tend to lose contact with reality per say. But a very good walk down memory lane
Thank you RK sir!
@krishn(1),
To see a super class acting talent of Naseeruddin Shah you have to watch his old films which he did before he said yes to Pankaj Parashar’s Jalwa and later joined camp of Rajiv Rai etc.
See his Mirza Ghalib TV serial with Gulzar.
Its strange to see that commercial filmmakers can waste such a talent in this awkward manner.
When he started money was in commercial films only and he and Om Puri both did brilliant things in parallel cinema but to live in Bombay and to survive and to take care of family, everybody need atleast a sufficient amount of money and it was with commercial filmmakers only. Occupational hazzards.
Commercial filmmakers exploited their images in their formula films as they could claim that actors of such a high calibre are present in their films, though they were incapable to do any justice to their acting talent.
Actors having not more than 1/5th of acting talent of Naseer and Om Puri have been charging Millions of Rupees and somewhere this factor is also responsible that not many films are made which can have good quality. makers are always happy with an average status because they are earning money.
@Mayur,
certainly without brilliant writing and direction, a film like Ardh Satya could not be made.
NFDC should release scripts of such films so that we know individual contribution of different people in making such a fine film.
I feel and i feel it very strongly that Naseeruddin Shah has a big share in making his character significant because of his understanding of the character and giving a very sincere performance in such a small role and searching new ways to present portions of a scene. He must have a great contribution in searching fine nuances to play this character.
If we consider his all the films released in 1983 then it becomes more clear.
@Srinivas,
yes thats the problem with severe addicts of alcohol and drugs. After a certain stage they become kleptomaniac in all the senses. They not only try to steal things but emotions and their own sense of realization also. they realize certain things but refuse to admit them as real because they start thinking they can’t afford this realisation. Self esteem eludes them.
Re: that particular scene- surely there can be different interpretations
I guess its a Five star hotel where a meeting was arranged.
Naseer reaches there when all the three guys are sitting inside the taxi. He might have approached them without recognising them but once Om Puri asks driver to stop taxi and Naseer asks money from him from adistance of 2 ft and when Naseer is in search of money so that he can arrange his drink then its very much possible that he recognises Om Puri because he had met him few days before only and it was also a conversation when he was not drunk. He takes money then also to have drinks.
But because he sees carefully Om Puri only after requesting the money saying his wife has died that evening only and Om Puri is taking out his purse so Naseer can not go back.
Perhaps Director wants to show his continous decline. In their first meeting he counters Om Puri with mannerisms of a police man only and even if he takes money he takes it under the excuse of a debt which he would be playing later in next meeting and he says clearly he had no money with him.
In this meeting, he has now a well thought excuse that his wife has died.and lot many people asks money under such excuses so people demanding money with such method also know that other people from whom they are asking may know their trick. Some will believe them and some will not. we can guess that if he had recognised them earlier before approaching them then perhaps he could have asked them straight to give him money without saying false excuses. He approaches them as customers of a five star hotel.
They all are policemen and we have to guess if some other person might have stopped them then what could have been the reactions of Om Puri et al? Om Puri stops the taxi because he knows Mike Lobo. and when ML asks money then its but natural for them to feel a conflict inside that what to do? and we have reasons to believe that Mike Lobo guesses their feelings but he is compelled to continue his pleadings for the money as first he has passed that stage where he could his desires and emotions and second he is living because he is drinking and drinks help him to stop thinking so for him drinking is essential thing for his survival for whatever days and months and years.
Yes what you say is correct. Another way of looking at it would be – As they walk out of the Five star hotel, and Inspector Haider asks the usher to hail a cab – we never see ML. As they get seated and Haider gives AV a piece of advice, we hear the voice of ML shouting at them. As he approaches the cab, AV recognizes ML and stops. ML first approaches AV (this is what I was saying) – AV thinking that ML has recognized him expects the earlier ML to ask money (the more disciplined ex cop). But AV realizes that over here ML is no more than a shadow of himself. Rather he notices that ML doesn’t recognize any of them – neither AV nor his former police friends.
If you look at the film overall, it could pass off as just a scene where we see ML disintegration. But even such a small scene is generating so much discussion amongst us
Such was the genius of Vijay Tendulkar and the way his scripts have been thought of and written. 
“kaisa ho gaya..chup chap kaam karta toh ka jaata ?”
Hyder ali “Chup chap matlab ? Humari tarah na ???”
to refer to another film ..i thought naseer did wat om puri did to naseer in another govind nihlani film called aakrosh in the role of lahanya …
jus few scenes and u end up thinking abt lahanya ..who kills his own sister in the funeral scene …
@Srinivas(7),
Thats true. Whatever film we take from team of Vijay Tendulkar with Shyam Benegal or Govind Nihalani, characters are complex and they generate thinking and discussion.
@Kartik(8),
Kya kar rahe ho,
Now you are reminding Aakrosh also. Aakrosh is a 10,000 Volts drama. Its a fire. Anger is at peak there.
and again team of Naseer, Amrish Puri, Om Puri, Smita Patil and Nana Palsiker in so effective role.
if Ardha Satya explores lives of Cops then Aakrosh does same with lawyers and corruption and mafia elements are present in both.
Without saying any dialogue, an actor can act and Om Puri does that with high skills.
Aakrosh has many things which were done first time.
RK – Naseer was fantastic – absolutely in control – it was also around the same time (early eighties), he gave one of his finest performances in Masoom & ‘Mirch Masala’. Also Govindji, where is he? His ‘Pita’, ‘Rukmavati ki haveli’, Aakrosh – all his films before Drohkaal hit you right at your solar plexus – boom. Its with Drohkaal, that the slide began … everyone goes through it … but waiting for him to regain back his form.
I have seen Drohkaal, But didn´t had the opportunity to watch Ardh Satya. I hope to see it soon. But, couldný find that in U.S . I just want someone to send me any link of the movie in the internet.
maaa ki aankh pura post-mortem karta hai re tu …..but its true that Naseer rocked as Mike Lobo..and worst part is that u get the premonition even Velankar is gonna turn out loser alcoholic like him few yrs down the line
@Nirad,
Starting direction in 1980 with a powerful film Aakrosh and then directing impressive films like Vijeta, Ardhsatya, Party, Aghaat, Tamas should take a lot of creativity out of a person and when a period like 1985-2000 comes before any creative person in the films where nobody knew what was worst and only one had to choose between bad and very bad films then it was not easy to remain same creative person because market always tries to handle every creation on that pattern only and money does not come out for the neat and nice and different projects.
And then its all about a team. A team which could bring us Aakrosh and Ardh Satya was not active in later years.
There is a lot of difference between Shyam Benegal’s films before Trikal (1985) and his later films.
High standard of any creator does not remain same over the years as life’s different phases affect everybody.
Though in comparison to other creators their standard still remain high but if we compare their own works then seldom it happens that they give better products at later age. They do remarkable work during certain phase of their creative life only.
I guess when they start then energy is different and their ignorant passion extracts best work out of them and they dont bother about many things like what they are getting back or how life would bring settlement etc but later when they come face to face with hard facts of practical life where they see money factor can not be avoided because if they dont need but their families need it for survival and education of their children need it and illness of family members need it and they need shelter in costly city then filament of that passionate light bulb inside starts giving dim light.
Its very hard to maintain same passion all through the life.
This is also true that if brilliant creators like these people also get same commercial success and financial security as commercial films and their makers and actors get then they can maintain their creative passion for much longer period.
@srikanth,
you dont get it like others in USA get films through netflix?
@S.A.M,
But AV does not get end of Mike Lobo. He does not become alcoholic but he uses alcohol for a brief time period only.