An extraordinary story of an ordinary man: Nawazuddin Siddiqui

When we talk about actors, we think of some handsome faces, some chiselled body or simply something heroic or romantic. But, there are actors who proved with their work that you can be as real and convincing on screen and looks have to nothing to do with it. One such actor is Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

The beginning:

If we talk about Nawazuddin Siddiqui early life, then he was born in Budhana, Muzaffarnagar U.P. on 29th May 1974.He was the eldest among the eight siblings.

  • He studies Bachelor’s in Science with Chemistry from Haridwar and worked as Chemist for two years in Vadodara.
  • Came to Delhi in search of job rather got mesmerised on seeing a play and decided to be an actor.

When life became struggle:

The journey for Siddiqui began with a struggle. He had to work on back to back 10 plays just to get admission into the National School of Drama in New Delhi.

  • After graduating in 1996 Nawaz bagged his first role in 1999 Amir Khan starer Sarfarosh.
  • He then appeared in various forgettable small roles in Ram Gopal Verma’s Shool (1999), Jungle (2000) and Raj Kumar Hirani’s Munna Bhai MBBS (2003)
  • He appeared in a short film Bypass (2003) opposite Irfan Khan but failed to make a mark.
  • Nawazuddin Siddiqui struggle story further continues when he failed to make it to any TV serial he auditioned for.
  • The worst time for Nawaz was from 2002 to 2005 when he was out of work and had no place to live in.
  • Siddiqui agreed to cook at a senior’s place just in exchange for living with him.
  • He was then seen later in 2010 starrer Dev D in a song and again in New York.

Time turner

Time always changes for everyone, they just have to recognize the opportunity.

For Nawaz the opportunity was his role as a journalist in Peepli Live (2010) followed by many other Nawazuddin Siddiqui movies:

  • His performance in Prashant Bhargava’s Patang: the kite (2012) was highly appreciated.
  • Kahaani (2012) gave him a very new style and character to play unlike the conventional roles he played so far.
  • In 2012, Anurag Kashyup’s Gangs of Wassepur and Gangs of Wassepur 2 gave him a great fan following and a fame that was not to fade out soon. He did also work in Aamir Khan’s Talash.
  • He did play a lead in Aatma (2013) and a lead antagonist in Salman Khan’s starrer Kick (2014).
  • In 2015 Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Manjhi- the mountain man gave Siddiqui the much deserved praise and love of the audience.
  • Nawazuddin Siddiqui latest movie includes a biopic on Bal Thakre.

Secret Life

Nawaz has never been public about his personal life. We know nothing more about Nawazuddin Siddiqui wife, apart from this that her name is Anjali Siddiqui. There was a novel but a Nawazuddin Siddiqui biography, An Ordinary Man written about his personal life. It was soon taken out of the market due to a suit filed by the actress Niharika Singh who was apparently very close to him. Nawazuddin is the father of a baby girl.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui climbed his way towards the place where he is today. It was an uphill road and his only way was his sheer talent. Siddiqui only promises to go on.