In the past two years, we have seen him as a revenge-driven gangster in Gangs of Wasseypur and the good-humoured Shaikh in The lunchbox, as a struggling actor trying to prove his worth to his daughter in Bombay Talkies and also as an evil-spirited father who is a threat to his own daughter in Aatma. From being a chemist at Baroda to being the face of India’s indie cinema at the international forum, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has come a long way. He opens up in a free-wheeling interaction with Ananya Borgohain. Excerpts:
let’s talk about your journey to stardom.
After completing my graduation in Science, I worked as a chemist in Baroda. Honestly, I was an awara (wanderer), confused about life and wondering what I would enjoy doing. Deep within, I wasn’t contended with life. One day I watched a play with a friend and I remember being benumbed by its powerful impact. The medium had an energetic vibe and the connection with the audience was direct and transparent. I knew I wanted to explore it further but didn’t have the courage to pursue it right away. So I began to watch more and more plays and then began to work on a few, largely doing small roles. For financial conciliation, I worked as a security guard at a toy factory at Shahdara in Delhi. During the day I worked, the evenings were meant for rehearsals. After I had attained enough confidence and experience, I joined the National School of Drama, Delhi. I did about 50 to 60 comic roles until in my third year when we had a visiting playwright from Moscow. He simply looked into my eyes and only on that basis offered me an intense role for the first time. I was soon exposed to method acting and Stanislavsky. The transition was effective, I grew as an actor. However, theatre does not pay well. I was involved in a lot of street plays but moving on to cinema became a natural next step for the sake of more prospects.
After over 15 years of limited appearances in films, how did a big project like Gangs of Wasseypur landedup with youIJ
It was all because Anurag (Kashyap) had this strange faith in me. He was advised by production houses to cast several big, established names for the role of Faisal Khan but it was his sheer determination that made me the lead in the film.
How have your struggling years helped you as an actorIJ
In a huge way. The industry is responsive towards me now and hasn’t yet typecast me. I don’t belong to the genre of either comedy or gangster drama. I have versatility with me. Talent could be possessed by many but it cannot take you to the zenith of success alone. You can see someone’s potential in a single film itself. Beyond that, only the knowledge, understanding and experience of the person can take him/her ahead. All the years of theatre and film cameos bestowed invaluable experience upon me and the right amount of ability and experience has materialised well and here I am today.
Even after a century, the mainstream-parallel divide exists in Indian cinema. WhyIJ
I can see it gradually blurring. Mainstream films are made for kids. A little naach-gaana and mindless scenes wherein the hero would box the villain’s ears and he would go flying up in the air are sufficient to grip the attention of children. See, if I have studied and formally learned the craft, is that a mistakeIJ What can I do if they don’t want to produce thoughtful and engaging worksIJ And what can I do if, say, 80 per cent of the audiences go to watch those very filmsIJ If by ‘commercial’ cinema they mean films which run at the box office, then well, my films are running as good too. If they invest Rs60 crore and earn Rs100 crore, then I would say my films are faring much better because they earn Rs20 crore from an investment of Rs5 crore. And within this limited structure it is creating a niche audience as well.
Now I am doing Salman Khan’s Kick which is a commercial endeavour but it has a beautiful script and I know that everybody goes to watch Salman’s films and I hope to bring in my audience to the theatres to watch it as well. It helps the director too if I could widen his audience. This way, I can also generate finance well for ventures which I may make for myself in the future; visibility pays well.
Tell us about the problems that indie cinema faces todayIJ
There is a serious problem in the promotional aspect. For instance, in the case of Miss lovely, there was hardly any promotion. Even those who knew me had not even heard of it. If this continues, and the audiences do not mature, these films with content will never reach the Rs100 crore mark. It can happen only when they are promoted well. I think today nobody is a superstar because had there been any, they would have comfortably sat at their homes and waited for their respective releases sans any promotion. Agar aap superstar hain, toh ghar pe baithiye na. In reality, they go to all the corners of the country to request people to watch their films. In the case of indie cinema, that does not happen and people don’t learn of these projects and hence does not generate insane amounts of profits.
With so many of your films being screened in reputed international film festivals, how do you see the global response to Indian cinemaIJ
To generalise, the kind of films that we made in the last 20 to 40 years have ruined the reputation of Indian cinema at the international level. They think they are all the same — with dance, melodrama, item numbers, one hero, one heroine, problem in paradise and a final resolution where everything ends happily ever after. In the last three to four years, a different content-based cinema is trying to fit into the scene. It is struggling, but still trying to educate and change the mindset of the international audiences, trying to show them that we are not always casual and can cultivate serious and sensitive aesthetics as well. And at the same time, it is also struggling on the home front wherein it gets a decent release only if a big studio or superstar comes to its rescue. Sadly, that way indie cinema struggles to make large efforts from both sides.
I look at your role in The lunchbox as the alter ego of Sajan Fernandez (Irrfan Khan’s role). Did it serveas a graph of everything that Sajan didn’t haveIJ
I drew the parallel more with a real friend of mine with whom I used to live 11 years ago. like the characters in the film, he was also a typical aam aadmi of Mumbai. He craved for possibilities but did not glorify his disappointments, unlike the bourgeoisie who heightened theirs. He looked at difficulties as a part and parcel of everyday life. I had signed The lunchbox before Gangs of Wasseypur and completely copy-pasted his nuances in the film.
Are you still cynical of film awardsIJ
I just feel that there should not be so many award functions. The feeling of pride and seriousness both decline with too many of those award ceremonies happening every week.
With the varied range of roles you have enacted so far, how has Nawaz, the offscreen persona evolvedIJ
He is confused and boring, and very normal with little amounts of both good and bad. I haven’t been able to impress anybody in life! I am not a good speaker and don’t think I can inspire anybody through words. They call me for talks in academic institutions and I begin to fumble in front of a large audience.