CINEMA - ALL RISE

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui speaks about his struggles, success, and the secret behind his exceptional acting.

- Radhika Bhalla

Honesty is an often undervalued quality. But for Nawazuddin Siddiqui, it is his abiding truth...the way he commits to his craft and the characters he essays. Sitting in a studio in New York—where his performance in the Netflix original Serious Men was nominated for Best Actor at the 49th Emmy Awards—there is a poised intensity to Nawazuddin, as he discusses his struggles and success with equal composure. He speaks about his desire to become a monk, the thirst to explore the inner-world of a character, and how he still farms every year in his village in Muzaffarnagar district, Uttar Pradesh.

“I didn’t start off wanting to be an actor. I wanted to go into the mountains after completing my education and become a monk. I even visited Dharamshala for a few days. It was only after someone took me to watch a play during my graduation that I become fascinated with acting,” Nawazuddin tells Bazaar India.