Nawazuddin opens up at IFFI sidelines: Acting is my everything, its my life

Panaji, Nov 22 : If you have to begin from zero, you have to first unlearn what you have learnt, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui said on Tuesday.

The iconic actor, who has appeared in some of Bollywood’s major films such as Black Friday, New York , Peepli Live, Kahani, and Gangs of Wasseypur , was addressing the ‘In- conversation’ session on topic- ‘Journey as an Actor’, organized at the ongoing international Film Festival of India.

Speaking about his journey of becoming an actor , he said after graduating from a local college, he worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company for a short while. However, to fulfil the dream of becoming an actor, he got associated with theatre. Eventually, he got admitted to the National School of Drama (NSD), Delhi.

When asked about his struggles and challenges that he faced in early days of his career, Nawazuddin told that he was offered small roles which he had to accept as he had no other alternative and he had to survive.

“It is the difficult time that makes you strong,” he said.

Responding to a question on how Gangs of Wasseypur turned out to be a turning point in his acting career, he said that the movie made him believe in himself.

“I was confident that my struggles will get over after this and people will appreciate this movie,” he said.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui also shared his experience of working in web-series on Netflix and other OTT platforms.

He said initially he was hesitant to work in series on OTT platforms as he had no idea about them. However, Anurag Kashyap convinced him for working on these platform. It is to be noted that Sacred Games web-series turned out to be a big hit on Netflix.

Nawazuddin also shared his words of wisdom on playing versatile roles in biopics Manto, where he played role of prominent Urdu author Saadat Hasan Manto, and Thackeray, in which he played as Indian politician Bal Thackeray.

When asked from where he gets the drive and motivation to work everyday, Nawazuddin said that acting is my hobby and I don’t get tired of it. “Acting is my everything, its my life. Even one life is not enough to satiate my thirst for acting”, he added.