Escape to fantasy

NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI TELLS SUMAN SHARMA ACTING HAS BEEN CATHARTIC FOR HIM

- SUMAN SHARMA

Nawazuddin Siddiqui was perhaps a chameleon in his previous birth. That possibly explains his penchant for immersing himself into his characters. An unassuming presence off-screen, the effect is totally reversed on screen. You can’t take your eyes off him. His gestures say a thousand words and he steals the scene even with his silences. He can be the legendary writer Saadat Manto, Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray as well as the fictional crime lord, Ganesh Gaitonde, with equal ease. Who would have thought that the no-name actor, who was beaten up by the police in Sarfarosh (1999), would one day rub shoulders with top stars and make them a fan of his talent? But showbiz dreams are made up of such improbabilities.

I first met Nawaz on the set of Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012). He had made waves as a maverick police inspector in Sujoy Ghosh’s Kahaani (2012) and was basking in his newfound success. Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur escalated that even further and made him a household name. The National School of Drama graduate since then has wowed viewers with a medley of portrayals in hordes of films. Aamir Khan’s Talash, Salman Khan’s Kick and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Varun Dhawan’s Badlapur, Shah Rukh Khan’s Raees and Ketan Mehta’s critically acclaimed Manjhi – The Mountain Man comprise just a few of those.