At the press conference organised in advance of the release of Banaras, on April 7, Naseeruddin Shah seemed to be in special form.

He claimed that he did not know what the film -- in which he plays God -- was all about. He agreed to do it simply because his director friend, Pankuj Parashar, asked him to do it.

When asked if it was tough to play God, Naseer quipped, "Playing God comes naturally to me."

Reshammiya gets spiritual for Banaras

And while the media was still trying to take in this one-liner, he added, "Most of the time I don't understand what I'm doing in my films. I come to know about the film only when it is completed and when I feel something is wrong. But by then, it is too late to make changes."

Naseer and Parashar had last worked in Jalwa (1987) together.

Urmila, back with Banaras

Banaras also stars Urmila Matondkar, Dimple Kapadia, Raj Babbar and Ashmit Patel. It is written and produced by L C Singh, who is the president and CEO of Nihilent Technologies.

Text: Syed Firdaus Ashraf