Happy Birthday Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Winning hearts with his wise words
What's the story
Few actors have the ability to completely immerse themselves in their roles and keep the audience intrigued by their mere presence.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one such actor.
Be it gangster Ganesh Gaitonde in Sacred Games or goofy-reporter Chand Nawab in Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Siddiqui has carried all his roles with unmatched panache.
On his 47th birthday, here are some of his best heart-warming interviews.
Unconventional
When he pointed out Bollywood's obsession with 'fair-and-handsome' actors
Siddiqui, who struggled for many years before finding footing in Bollywood, opened up on the discrimination he had to face because of his skin tone.
"We always believe that the hero should be tall, muscular, fair and handsome. This prejudice comes from the fact that we still suffer from a sort of "slave mentality" even after so many years of Independence," he shared once.
Bromance
Anurag Kashyap's 'item girl' and a possible marriage between them!
His history with filmmaker Anurag Kashyap dates back to 2007, when he was cast in Black Friday.
Since then, both their personal and professional relationships have blossomed.
So much so that Kashyap calls him his 'item girl,' he revealed, while adding that they both joke that "if either one of us were a girl, we would have married each other."
Now, that's a combination!
Do you know?
He is a big, high-level actor, said SRK about Siddiqui
Siddiqui's acting hasn't just amazed us. Even superstar Shah Rukh Khan was left impressed. "I am not as big an actor as Nawaz bhai. He perhaps doesn't know how special he is. He is a big, high-level actor," he said of his Raees co-star.
Bond
His special bond with 'The Lunchbox' co-star Irrfan
Another of Siddiqui's frequent collaborators, Irrfan-khan-on-his-first-death-anniversary/story">Irrfan Khan, has taught him how "less is more."
In an interview he had spoken highly of his late The Lunchbox co-star.
"I had a good association with Irrfan bhai. Apart from both of us attending NSD, he also directed me in Alvida around 2003. He demonstrated a very nice aspect, about using fewer and crisper dialogues," he shared.
Mainstream
Siddiqui's villainous laugh became signature of 'Kick'
Siddiqui shines even in the world full of heroes. His villainous laugh is indeed the signature of Kick.
Talking about it, he said, "I hear there's a lot of clapping and whistling when I come on-screen...hadn't hoped for this kind of reaction."
Lead star Salman Khan did try to imitate the smile to mock Faroz (Siddiqui), but in vain.
Awareness
When he talked about caste system and its effect
Not just films, directors or his co-stars, Siddiqui also touched upon important social issues like the still-prevalent caste system.
Talking in context of Hathras rape incident, the UP native had said that distinguishing people based on caste "is deeply entrenched within them (the villagers)...it is in their veins."
"The fact that I am famous doesn't matter to them," the Manto star said.