If I wanted money, I could’ve opened a sugar mill in my village: Nawaz

One of the most versatile actors, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a soughtafter name in the Hindi film industry, but only after having struggled for a decade. He enjoys acting, and is glad that he’s getting good work. But, the 43-year-old is neither desperate for roles or big bucks. “Acting makes me happy. It helps me discover myself so I’m here [in Bollywood] for a very selfish reason,” says Nawaz, adding that money is “not his motivation” to work. “I have a lot of land in my village Budhana [in Uttar Pradesh], and if I wanted money, I could have opened a sugar mill there.” If films didn’t happen, he would be a farmer, says Nawaz, who often takes off to his village to feel rejuvenated and stay grounded. “In my village, people get excited for two days when my film releases but after that, they go back to being normal... I love going back home. I go there and work in the farms and I think that’s what keeps me grounded... I don’t want to look at life and think that I’m an achiever. I am a realistic person and I want to be like that,” says the actor. Content with how his career is progressing, he feels that it’s a great time to be an actor, as our audience is evolving everyday. “So, an actor is accepted in a wide array of roles.” Nawaz, however, is mostly offered intense roles, which by his own admission, take a lot out of him. Does he worry about being typecast? “I’m not a conventional hero, so I don’t think that can happen with me. Also, I haven’t restricted myself to working in a single genre. My effort has been to be experimental,” he says. Talking of trying new things, Nawaz’s character in his next film, Munna Micheal, will be seen dancing on the big screen. He’s quick to share, “I don’t enjoy dancing. I underwent two days of practise on Sabbir’s (Khan, director) insistence.” Can one expect him to do a typical dancing-around-thetree routine in a film? “That will never be my style. Plus, where are the trees? There are such few trees to run around these days,” he laughs.

Money is not my motivation to work [in Bollywood]. I have a lot of land in my village Budhana [in UP] NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI, ACTOR