“If you have to begin from zero, you have to first unlearn what you have learnt,” said Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
The iconic actor who has appeared in some of Bollywood's major films such as Black Friday, New York, Peepli Live, Kahani and Gangs of Wasseypur, addressed the In Conversation session on the topic Journey as an Actor today.
The session was organised on the sidelines of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) being held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2022.
Speaking about his journey to becoming an actor, he said that after graduating from a local college, he worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company for a short while.
However, to fulfil the dream of becoming an actor, he became associated with theatre. Eventually, he gained admission to the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi.
When asked about the struggles and challenges that he faced in the early days of his career, Nawazuddin said that he was offered small roles which he had to accept as he had no other alternative to survive. “It is the difficult times that makes you strong,” he said.
Responding to a question on how Gangs of Wasseypur turned out to be a turning point in his acting career, he said that the movie made him believe in himself. “I was confident that my struggles will be over after this, and people will appreciate this movie,” he said.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui also shared his experience of working on a web series on Netflix and other OTT platforms. He said that initially he was hesitant to work in a series on OTT platforms as he had no idea about them.
However, Anurag Kashyap convinced him to work on these platforms. It is to be noted that the Sacred Games web series turned out to be a big hit on Netflix.
Nawazuddin also shared his words of wisdom on playing versatile roles in biopics like Manto where he played the role of prominent Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto; and Thackeray in which he played the role of Indian politician Bal Thackeray.
When asked about the source of his drive and motivation to work every day, Nawazuddin said that acting was his hobby and he doesn’t get tired of it. “Acting is my everything; it’s my life. Even one life is not enough to satiate my thirst for acting,” he added further.
During the session, the actor also shared some snippets on his role as a transgender person in his upcoming movie Haddi.