Nawazuddin: ‘If you are doing every role the same way, then there’s no point’
Nawazuddin says evolving with time is what keeps him going.
After a streak of small roles in movies such as Sarfarosh (1999), Munnabhai M.B.B.S (2003), Black Friday (2007) and Dev D (2009), it was his portrayal of Faizal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) that helped Nawazuddin Siddiqui set a strong foot hold in Bollywood. An alumnus of the National School of Drama, Delhi, Nawazuddin has never shied away from taking up projects regardless of the medium.
However, Nawazuddin, who was appreciated for his role as Ganesh Gaitonde in Sacred Games, says that he didn't know much about any mediums. "I don't have much idea about these platforms. I knew about films. It was Anurag Kashyap who introduced me to OTT. It was him who offered me Sacred Games, and if Anurag is saying, then I just had to do it. Anurag keeps introducing me to new mediums," he says.
With movies such as Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Badlapur (2015), Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Manto (2018) and Thackeray (2019), the 45-year-old actor says an actor should not be bothered about the numbers. "As an actor, you should never work keeping in mind these factors. I feel, this corrupts his/her craft. As an actor, I still look out for roles that get me out of my comfort zone and help me know my inner emotions," he elucidates.
As an actor, Nawazuddin says evolving with time is what keeps him going. "I always knew that I wanted to do roles that challenge me as an artiste. I always feel the need to keep evolving myself," he shares. It is safe to say that he has mastered the portrayal of grey roles, but ask him which has been the most difficult character or genre he has done till date, and he says, "More than the genre, it is the character. There are so much detailing in every character. Be it any genre, if you are doing every role the same way, then there is no point."
He further adds, "For instance, Gangs of Wasseypur and Sacred Games. Both the roles were of gangsters, but these characters were poles apart. There was a lot of difference in their background and their world.
