Nawazuddin Siddiqui (born 19 May 1974) is an Indian film actor who has appeared in some of Bollywood's major films including, Black Friday (2004), New York (2009), Peepli Live (2010), Kahani (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 2 (2012), Manjhi (2013) and Talaash (2012). After a period of unnoticed performances in his early career, he appeared in four major films of 2012 â€" Kahaani (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur â€" Part 2 (2012) and Talaash (2012), all of which earned him wide critical reception and many Awards including Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role â€" Male both for his role as Taimur in Talaash: The Answer Lies Within as well as Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Gangs of Wasseypur.
Siddiqui became a household name in 2012, when his acting career reached a high point, "Gangs of Wasseypur 2 " was the most Important film for Nawazuddin, which gave him a stardom and respect among fellow film artists.His first lead role in a feature film was in Prashant Bhargava's Patang, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for which Nawazuddin's performance has been praised by noted film critic Roger Ebert (awarding the film 4/4 stars), a role which 'transformed his acting style'. He has collaborated with the critically acclaimed director Anurag Kashyap on multiple occasions.
He was awarded the Special Jury Award at the 60th National Film Awards 2012, for his work in films, Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Dekh Indian Circus and Talaash.
Early life and education
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is from Budhana a small town of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh from a Muslim family, where his father is a farmer. Siddiqui grew up amongst nine siblings, seven brothers and two sisters.
After graduating in science from Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar, Uttarakand, he worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company for a short while. But boredom set in soon, and he moved to Delhi, where he worked as a watchman. However, after one year there he joined a theatre group and started watching plays, while working as a watchman at an office.
He graduated from the The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1996 for his theatre academics.
Career
He went to the National School of Drama New Delhi. After graduating from NSD, he shifted to Mumbai. In 2004, which was one of the worst years of his struggle, he couldn’t pay any rent. He asked an NSD senior if he could stay with him. The senior allowed him to share his apartment in Goregaon if he was willing to cook meals for him. Nawazuddin made his Bollywood debut in 1999, with a small role in Aamir khan starrer, Sarfarosh. After that, he hung out at film studios and shootings but only got stereotypical roles. After moving to Mumbai he tried to get work in television serials, but did not achieve much success. He did a short film The Bypas in 2003, where he appeared with actor, Irrfan Khan. Beyond that between 2002â€"05, he was largely out of work, and lived in a flat he shared with four other people, and survived by conducting occasional acting workshops.
His appearance in Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004) paved way for other powerful roles. His first lead role in a feature film was as the wedding singer Chakku in Prashant Bhargava's Patang (shot in 2007-2008), which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and Tribeca Film Festival, for which Nawazuddin's natural performance has been praised by world renowned film critic Roger Ebert (awarding the film 4 stars), a role which 'transformed his acting style'. In 2009, he appeared in a cameo role in hit song "emotional atyachar" in the movie Dev D in his moniker as Rangila along with his duo Rasila (known together as Patna ke Presley). Nawazuddin was noticed in the film "New York". However it was his role of a journalist in Aamir Khan Productions's Peepli Live (2010), that first got him recognition as an actor. He became a household name post Kahaani (2012), where he played the archetypal short-tempered intelligence officer Khan. Anurag Kashyap's gangster epic Gangs of Wasseypur followed which furthered his fame. He played his first primary role as Sonu Duggal in Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely which premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, a role Nawazuddin describes as his "most real performance so far." Nawazuddin then followed this up with the sequel to Gangs of Wasseypur. In 2013, he played the lead role in the horror flick Aatma. He has appeared in Aamir Khan's 2012 release, Talash. His film Patang, which was recently released in the U.S. and Canada, is garnering much attention for Nawazuddin with rave reviews from the New York Times, and Los Angeles Times. He has also appeared in the Salman Khan starrer flick "Kick" . He plays the role of an antagonist for which he has received several positive reviews. He loves to play badminton and wanted to be a player but unfortunately due to knee injury he wasn't able to continue.
Personal life
He lives in Mumbai at Yari Road, Andheri West with his younger brother Shamaas Nawab Siddiqui. who is a director. He is married and has a daughter named Shora.
Filmography
Awards
References
External links
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui at the Internet Movie Database
- Nawazuddin Siddiqui at Bollywood Hungama
- Nawazuddini Siddiqui speaks to Spectralhues
