Despite being Muslim, Nawazuddin is fine being 'Thackeray'. Here's why
What's the story
After winning hearts with his exemplary portrayal of Urdu iconoclast Saadat Haasan Manto, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is back with Thackeray, and the movie looks exceptional.
He is portraying late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray in Thackeray. While the trailer witnessed rave reviews, Nawazuddin was criticized for playing Thackeray due to his religion.
But Nawazuddin is unfazed by criticism and called it an unnecessary controversy.
Controversy
Is Nawazuddin the perfect choice for 'Thackeray'?
Notably, Balasaheb Thackeray's biopic has been in the swirling vortex of controversy ever since Nawazuddin was roped in for the titular role as a he is a Muslim from Uttar Pradesh.
It was reported that there is a section of the society that raised an objection to Nawazuddin's casting given Shiv Sena's staunch Hindutva principles which have been anti-Muslim, anti-migrant and anti-Uttar Pradesh.
Statement
People are fond of creating controversies: Nawazuddin
During his recent interview with Times Now, Nawazuddin slammed the haters for making a controversy out of everything because of their shallow thinking.
"Thousands of people will say thousands of things. Today, every little thing is turning out to become a controversy. Rather than broadening their thoughts, people are making it narrower. I am an actor, I will do any role," Nawazuddin told the portal.
Casting
Nawaz was not given the role because of his religion
Nawazuddin further emphasized that he got the titular role in Thackeray, not on the basis of his religion but because he is an artist who can do justice to that role.
"I think the least we all could do is at least appreciate Shiv Sena for having a progressive approach and choosing me to play their idol irrespective of my religious background," he added.
Details
Did you know writer Sanjay Raut finalized Nawazuddin within minutes?
Nawazuddin was meant to portray Thackeray and was roped in for the role within minutes by writer Sanjay Raut.
Raut said that he was impressed by Nawaz's acting in Freaky Ali.
"I've always liked Nawazuddin's work. I called him for a meeting at a hotel. I observed his body language that moment and decided that he would play the character," Raut had said.
Challenges
Portraying Balasaheb Thackeray was tough, says Nawazuddin
To recall, Nawazuddin has been quite excited to portray Balasaheb Thackeray onscreen. However, the actor also admitted that it was a tough role to portray.
Nawaz also revealed that he worked really hard to get Thackeray's mannerism right.
"Getting the mannerisms, his thought process and internalizing his vision to portray the character was very tough and I had to work really hard," he added.