Mukesh Khanna reveals Shatrughan Sinha faked his voice, while Naseeruddin Shah kept a beard believing he had a small chin | Hindi Movie News

Veteran actor Mukesh Khanna has recently spoken about his early days at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), where he shared classrooms with none other than celebrated actor Naseeruddin Shah. He also took a dig at Shatrughan Sinha’s voice.
In a recent interview on the Shaardulogy YouTube channel, Khanna commented on Shah’s critical view of mainstream Bollywood during their time at FTII. The two studied together for two years, and Shah once told Khanna, “Mukesh, what are the people in Bollywood doing? Running behind trees, showing birds.”
“That day, I predicted, ‘When he joins mainstream cinema, he will have a hard time,’” Khanna recalled.
Despite Shah’s initial disdain for commercial tropes, Khanna pointed out how he later embraced such roles. “Later, he did Hero Hiralal, where he performed all the dancing. He is a great actor. He used to keep his beard because he believed he had a small chin. Yet, he shaved it all off for the film,” Khanna explained.

In the same conversation, Khanna turned his attention to another seasoned actor, Shatrughan Sinha. While acknowledging their friendship and collaborative projects, he made a surprising remark about Sinha’s signature dialogue delivery style. “Shatrughan Sinha is a great friend of mine, and we have worked together on several projects. I am sorry to reveal this, but he has always spoken in a false tone of voice. You must have noticed — he talks from his throat and not his stomach. The ‘Khamosh’ comes from his throat,” he claimed.
According to Khanna, the only film in which Sinha used his natural voice was Dost (1974). He added that Sinha later embraced the affected voice, and it worked for him.

Reflecting on his own career, Khanna said his portrayal of iconic characters like Shaktimaan and Bheeshma Pitamah stemmed from his personal alignment with the values they represented, allowing him to embody them without hesitation or artifice.