Language not needed to watch Rajinikanth films

There is nothing in the world so miserable as a failed actor, believes Naseeruddin Shah. The 65-year-old actor has earned the reputation of being an actor par excellence. Ahead of performing his play Einstein in the city this Sunday, the veteran talks about theatre, the challenges he faced while preparing for the character, being eccentric and more���
What is Einstein about?
The play is a pencil sketch of Einstein and his life.It is a play that has been written very consciously in a Brechtian kind of style��� in the sense that the performer has to be constantly aware of the presence of the audience; unlike in other forms of theatre where you just forget that the audience is there.
What were the challenges you faced gearing up for the role?
The biggest challenge that I faced was to master the accent because the playwright insists that Einstein must speak with a thick German accent. I���ve done a couple of movies in Kannada and one in Malayalam, and I found it to be very difficult because I didn���t have enough time to practise the language. Here, mastering the dialect was one of the main things and that took a while.
Like Einstein, you have a reputation for being eccentric. Does that make you relate to the character?
I don���t put myself into the same category as Einstein but people do call me eccentric. I enjoy it because it helps you to get away with a lot of things. I don���t flatter myself by thinking that I have any qualities similar to that of Einstein���s except for his sense of humour, which I find absolutely delightful. Also, the way he puts very complex ideas into very simple words. I am completely in agreement with one of his most famous sayings: ���If you can���t explain it simply, you don���t understand it well enough.��� It is very flattering to pretend that I am Einstein and to pretend that I am so intelligent.
Do you think theatre, as an art form, is being accepted increasingly by youngsters in our country?
Absolutely so! This is one delightful phenomenon that we are witnessing these days in all our plays; even when we are doing a Bernard Shaw or Ismat Chughtai or Manto, the majority of our audience is young people. And I feel very happy about that because if you can get the youngsters interested in theatre, then I think we have made a step forward.
Do you watch Tamil cinema?
No, because I don���t speak Tamil. But I know some of the Rajinikanth movies because one doesn���t need to know the language to understand those ones. I want to see OK Kanmani by Mani Ratnam.