I’m not worried about playing Bal Thackeray: Nawazuddin
Nawazuddin Siddiqui has a packed schedule until the end of 2019. Flitting from the sets of one biopic to the other and from the sets of one web series to another, the actor has been juggling several film projects.
While he does admit that “it can get a bit taxing to work on multiple projects”, the actor has still carved out some two months’ prep time for one of his biggest roles ever — that of the late Shiv Sen chief Balasaheb Thackeray, one of the biggest political leaders that Maharashtra has ever had. Talking about it, he says, “I have only one life and I want to play as many diverse, complicated roles as possible. I was never a part of the usual fare and I never will be. My flop films are still being discussed. Back then, I was disappointed because those films didn’t work well but now when I see people still remembering my roles, I feel a sense of pride. The actual victory for a film is when it has repeat value.
“For Thackeray, I took two months off from everything else to just learn Marathi and get my diction right. I also wanted to get his body language right because everyone has seen him at some point in their lives.”
While it has become common for a film to face objection from either political parties or a certain section of society even before it releases, Nawazuddin says that he isn’t worried about the backlash. “As an actor today, there is too much scrutiny of what you say, where you go, what you do and who you meet. Your moves are monitored 24/7 and that can get extremely uncomfortable. Even when you want to be honest, you cannot,” says the actor.
“People who don’t have a face have started to write rubbish about you without any knowledge. Everyone gets offended about anything. But I am an actor and it’s my right to play any role that interests me. I am not worried about playing Bal Thackeray. I have no reason to be,” the Raman Raghav actor states.
I have only one life and I want to play as many diverse roles as possible. I was never a part of the usual fare and I never will be. NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI ACTOR