MUMBAI, INDIA:
Bollywood’s versatile actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, known for his intense and nuanced performances, has made a candid and emotional revelation about the early struggles of his career. He disclosed that his father initially banned him from returning to their village because of the marginal and often beaten-up roles he played in films.
The 51-year-old Siddiqui, widely regarded as one of contemporary Bollywood’s finest actors, emphasized that his journey to prominence was marked by significant personal sacrifice and social pressure. Speaking on YouTuber Raj Shamani’s show, he shared that he started his career with brief, minor roles in films like Sarfarosh and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S., where he often portrayed petty criminals or background characters who were constantly getting physically assaulted on screen.
The Father’s Pride and Shame: Siddiqui, whose family hails from Western UP, a region he noted is characterized by strong pride, explained that these roles deeply embarrassed his father. “People from my village used to tell my father that his son is always getting beaten up in films,” he recalled, which caused his father immense distress.
Recounting a conversation with his father, Siddiqui asked why he objected to the roles. When the actor explained that he couldn’t get anything better and was trying for bigger parts, his father gave a harsh decree: “Don’t come home after getting beaten up in films.” Siddiqui was so heartbroken by this command that he did not visit his village for three years.
Validation After ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’: The real turning point in Siddiqui’s career came with the 2012 film ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’. He recounted that after the film’s success, when he finally returned and asked his father, “What do you think now?” his father smiled and said, “Now you have done very good work.” This moment symbolized the paramount importance of familial validation over public fame for the actor.
On his current projects, Nawazuddin was recently seen in the horror-comedy film Thama (alongside Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna), which grossed ₹125 crore globally, a testament to his enduring success.
