Despite his varied success in Bollywood, Nawazuddin Siddiqui maintains an inconspicuous presence. If there was a rulebook to crack showbiz, it’s safe to say that Siddiqui hasn’t read it. Having essayed everything from a serial killer to an amateur golf champ, he has ensured he isn’t typecast and continues to experiment with every project.
Eased up on a chair, smoking a rolled cigarette at the office of the producer for Haraamkhor in Andheri, the actor believes in living in the moment and admits that he’s only as good as his last film. “I never shoot simultaneously. I complete one and then get to the next. I need to take a break of 15 days to a month to recover from the hangover of the previous role so that I can dive into the new one. I don’t get nostalgic about past glories. I don’t sit and reminisce that in 2012, I did Gangs of Wasseypur . A lot of actors get ensconced in their best work, but I prefer to move on after I wrap up my shoot,” he says. Today, the actor is one of the busiest in the industry with two releases inthis month alone.
Making a mark
Despite his unassuming appearance and a physique that’s contrary to those associated with the quintessential Bollywood hero, he’s carved a unique place for himself and it his work that speaks for itself, a reason why he’s made it into the wish list of top directors.
The actor will be seen this week in the much-delayed Haraamkhor , a film he was offered while filming Gangs of Wasseypur . Its director, Shlok Sharma, was assisting Anurag Kashyap at the time.
“The film has a lot of fun-filled moments, but at the same time, it is about a complicated relationship between a teacher and his student,” he says. “We reached the set, a village near Ahmedabad, even before there was a final script in place. But Shlok (Sharma) was clear about the way his film will progress and within two-three days, he finished the script.”
Siddiqui adds that a lot of improvisation and modifications were done to the story during filming.
The film has been mired in controversy with the CBFC reportedly objecting to its theme about an illicit relationship between a teacher and a teenage student. But Siddiqui is confident of the final result. “When I took the project, I didn’t anticipate the controversies the film would be embroiled in. I had taken it up at a time when I didn’t have too much work in hand. But Shlok was very confident. And it has turned out better than any of us had expected it to be.”
The actor will also be seen in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Raees this month.
While Haraamkhor will see him as a bumbling village schoolteacher, Siddiqui plays a no-nonsense cop in Raees . “My character in Haraamkhor is that of a teacher who pronounces Shakespeare as ‘sexpear’. He validates most of his teachings by attributing quirky quotes to the Bard. For him, adding Shakespeare’s name to something means making it more meaningful. The cop in Raees , on the other hand, is a matter-of-fact person who doesn’t like talking much. He is very different from my character in Kahaani , where I portrayed a short-tempered policeman.”
Wide range of roles
The actor doesn’t like repeating roles and is averse to conventional characters. But, he believes “all roles are difficult to portray”. “Even the 40-second role in Sarfarosh was challenging for me. When there’s a challenge, it makes you focused. If it is an easy role, I wouldn’t even be able to focus. I like to do roles that make me uncomfortable and apprehensive about my abilities. I like breaking out of my comfort zone with each film.”
The ability to own and steal a scene even when sharing the screen with actors such as Aamir Khan ( Talaash ), Salman Khan ( Bajrangi Bhaijaan , Kick ) and Shah Rukh Khan ( Raees ) is something he attributes to intense preparation. “When I was in theatre, I would rehearse for months and that habit has stuck.” For his role in Raees , the actor met IPS officers in Ahmedabad to research for his character. “Working with Shah Rukh Khan inspired me to be well prepared and deliver my best. Shah Rukh is an amazing co-star,” he says.
Like every actor, Siddiqui is often asked about his dream role. While he had initially not given much thought to it, after much deliberation, he has an answer. “It would be Dilip Kumar’s role in Mughal-e-Azam . I want to play Salim, especially to be able to voice the exquisitely written dialogues of the iconic film. Very few would believe that I’d be able to perform this role or do justice to it. But this is only because no director has explored the elegance ingrained in me. But for now, I am happy to live my life in the roles which I essay, be it a cop, a priest, a teacher or even a psychopath,” he adds.
For someone who has finally got his due after years of struggle, the actor still finds Bollywood to be judgmental. “People used to see my face and think ‘he looks like this, so he should play this type of role’. In the film industry, people only notice face and stature first and then assign roles. Earlier, the one who plays cop or a doctor will forever be playing those roles. Nobody has tried to explore their talent beyond those set roles. I was offered roles, which corresponded with my appearance: a beggar or a petty thief. Later, even beggars were supposed to look good. It was frustrating. Thankfully, that is changing and filmmakers now don’t want a star, but an actor.”
