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Sanya Is a Gifted Actor: Nawazuddin on ‘Photograph’ Co-Star

After ‘Thackeray’, Nawazuddin Siddiqui will be seen with Sanya Malhotra in Ritesh Batra’s ‘Photograph’. 

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Bollywood
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Cameraperson: Sanjoy Deb
Video Editor:
Veeru Krishnan Mohan

The Luchbox director Ritesh Batra’s upcoming film Photograph stars two actors who are ever so brilliant and honest in what they create on screen. Dangal actor Sanya Malhotra and the man who needs no introduction, Nawazuddin Siddiqui are in the lead. The movie captures what happens when a street photographer Rafi and a young woman Miloni, who come from different backgrounds and religions, meet.

We caught up with Nawazuddin to talk about his latest.

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We will start by talking about Ritesh Batra. You worked with him for The Lunchbox. You have also worked with Anurag Kashyap and Sriram Raghavan. What do you say is the difference between Ritesh and the other directors you have worked with?

Of course, there’s a huge difference. All three are brilliant directors and they have a different process and an actor likes it when each film has a different process to follow. In Photograph, Ritesh had a very different process even as compared to The Lunchbox. Ritesh has captured those moments in the film that we don’t usually see in our movies. A lot of actions and reaction he has captured that we do in general life but don’t see it.

In another interview, you said that Ritesh would make the actors do the same scene over and over again? What’s the technique?

When the director says ‘action’, actors get into this zone of acting. He would take multiple takes to break that zone of acting. After six or seven takes, actors are more casual. He has captured that casualness.

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Have you ever gotten a photo clicked at the Gateway of India?

When I came in the beginning, I got two pictures clicked at the Gateway of India. Those were the pager days and we would wear it near the belt. After that came the huge phone which could easily kill someone if you threw it at them. We bought that phone also but would never attend calls because the incoming call was very expensive and it costed Rs 17. Both incoming and outgoing calls were charged. Everyone was buying so I also bought it. I wouldn’t even take important calls.But then the phones changed, rates also got cheaper so then people started making use of it.

Photograph’s story looks like the story of a rich girl and a poor boy and we have seen similar stories in the 80s and 90s and they didn’t look believable. Is there a different approach in Photograph?

They are different people. He’s not poor. Look at his clothes and he has an expensive camera and he eats good food. They are different people, have different mindsets, different traditions and cultures and religions. They come from different worlds. Miloni, played by Sanya, has a world of her own which she brings with her. The male character gets his own world in the picture and then what happens when these two individuals meet.

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Sanya has said that she was very nervous and you are a brilliant actor. So how do you make sure that no one’s nervous or they’re not intimidated?

When I was acting with her, I was in fact thinking about how to correct the scene because I was so nervous myself. On day one I figured that she’s a very gifted actor and there’s this coolness and calmness in her which is incredible. She’s multi-talented. She’s also a dancer. You can’t tell she’s a newcomer. She seems like a veteran. Did you tell her that? No, I haven’t told her that but she has all the qualities. She has a passion in her which comes after a lot of maturity. You had seen her work before this? I had watched Dangal. And I thought she was very honest and truthful in that movie.

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Topics:  Nawazuddin Siddiqui 

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