Nawazuddin Siddiqui: “Good Actors, Good Films Don’t Get Enough Screens”
Nawazuddin talks about the superficiality in casting and the sidelining of good films and actors.
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In our next episode of Tell Me All', The Quint sits down with actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui for a candid conversation. He opes up about why "good actors" and "good performances" often don't get enough screens, how casting today is influenced by social media followers, and about the loss of dignity public figures face online during personal struggles.
The actor also reflects on his journey—from working as a chief chemist in Baroda to becoming an actor—while sharing his views on how actors today differ from earlier generations, the films that shaped him into the artist he is, and much more.
Siddiqui with his trademark candour talks about his initial years in the industry where it was as struggle to get work, "I never doubted my craft because I am a trained actor. Sure, I was not getting work, because it’s not like I look extraordinary, so it was taking time. It took a little time, but I never complained.”
When asked about the growing trend of casting actors based on social media following, he blames the format of the films, “If you are casting actors as per their followers and that person is doing the work, why won’t they? Can you stop them? When the format in our films, or acting itself, has become so superficial, then anyone can do it. It’s the job of the creatives to create a difference—so that people who are cast because of followers find it difficult to essay the role," he says.
Nawazuddin, also spoke about how the real problem lies in how good films and good actors are sidelined in distribution.
He cites examples of the actors he considers truly great: Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Irrfan Khan, Manoj Bajpayee. “People want to watch them,” he says, “but has anyone invested even 25 crores in a film with them? Can you tell if their films have ever got more than 400–800 screens?”
That, Nawazuddin explains, is the divide between what he calls a “public’s actor” and an “industry’s actor.” “A public actor’s films don’t reach the public,” he says, “and an industry actor’s films are everywhere.”
Nawazuddin, who himself recently went through a difficult time, reflected on how public figures are often treated during vulnerable times. Citing an example, he spoke about A.R Rahman being at the receiving end of unsavoury comments when the composer and his wife announced they were parting ways.
Watch the full video.