‘I like experimenting with characters I play and expect to do the same in 2022': Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Anything actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in is bound to be exceptional. With a repertoire that spans films like Talaash, Gangs of Wasseypur, Manto, Haraamkhor, Serious Men, Raat Akeli Hai, and series like Sacred Games, Nawazuddin has firmly established himself as a heavyweight actor. 2021 has been an extremely successful year for the actor. Siddiqui recently won the Filmfare OTT Award for Serious Men. This was his second back-to-back win after Raat Akeli Hai last year. The actor had also been nominated for an International Emmy Award for Serious Men, and his film No Land’s Man received thunderous applause after being screened at the prestigious Busan Film Festival. The years of the pandemic seem to have been quite satisfying for Siddiqui. Siddiqui who is still soaking in all the success and appreciation tells us that he feels grateful.  “2021 has been the best year of my career as I’ve won many awards, got nominated for the Emmy awards. I believe that the films I am choosing are getting appreciation from all across the globe. I feel happy and grateful.” Talking about the coming year, the actor says, “In 2022, I would want to continue doing the same. I hope to choose more such power-packed films.” In 2019, Sacred Games was nominated for the Best Drama Series at the International Emmys. The award was won by another crime show, McMafia, which also featured Nawazuddin in a brief role. At the International Emmys this year, Vir Das’ Netflix comedy special Vir Das: For India was nominated for Best Comedy while Sushmita Sen’s Disney+ Hotstar show Aarya competed in the Best Drama category – none of which won. He says, “In 2019, we won the trophy for MacMafia, however, we were not able to do that this year. But it’s a huge honour to get nominated for the Emmy awards. I am proud,” while talking about getting nominated for the prestigious Emmy awards again. The actor has several big-production films slated for a 2022 release. He tells us, “All the films are close to my heart. No Land’s Man which is about the journey of a South Asian man and how things get complicated when he meets an Australian woman in America, Heropanti 2 would be so different from what I’ve done, I am enjoying working on Tiku Weds Sheru right now, Jogira Sara Ra Ra is a romantic comedy – I feel blessed to be working on so many different projects and I am looking forward to it.” What makes Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s journey an unusual story is that despite coming from a poor family, and with no Godfather in the industry, he has managed to become the talking point from college campuses and theatre critics to followers of mainstream Bollywood fare. Today, the 47-year-old actor straddles the world of films from commercial Bollywood to the more serious or noir cinema. He took any role, big or small that came his way and played it so well that one forgot it was an actor enacting a role. “I like experimenting with my work and the characters I play – some are hardcore commercial, others are romantic and comic films. I want my films to be diverse in the coming year, as well. I am looking forward to 2022,” he says.