GAITONDE GOES SOFT

Nawazuddin Siddiqui became iconic by playing mobsters, but his career has now taken a sudden, romantic turn

SSpeaking to us last week, a day before Motichoor Chaknachoor hit theatres, Nawazuddin Siddiqui sounded tranquil: “I had filmed Sacred Games just before I did this film.

Aisi halki film kar ke mujhe bahut raahat mili (acting in a film this light brought me great relief).” Reviewers soon dismissed the film as “regressive”, “problematic” and “unfunny”, but Siddiqui, who plays a Dubai-returned accountant in Motichoor..., was hopeful when we interviewed him. Finally, he said, he would have a larger audience. “Families, usually, don’t come to watch my films, but you can even watch this with children.”

In an interview he gave a website last year, the actor said, “If I do shaadi-byaah (wedding) films, that will become my sensibility. Even if they become hits, even if people appreciate them, I don’t want to do them.” Motichoor..., Siddiqui accepts, is a shaadi-byaah film. From what he says, Siddiqui’s turnaround is informed by a new pragmatism. He today divides his films into two categories—one that he does for the bazaar (market), and another that he does for himself. “This is a bazaar-driven film. It has songs and jokes in the right places. It’s a romantic comedy, so I did not get stressed.”

Motichoor... is in no way a one-off. A teaser for Bole Chudiyan, Siddiqui’s next, sees him court Tamannaah Bhatia with an élan that some would argue better suits Bollywood’s more mainstream heroes. The 45-year-old Siddiqui, for his part, says, “Stars often remain bound in their own image and I feel they never improve. I want to get better with every film I do. I want to reduce my experience to scratch and then find something new. Everything I do must help me add to what I have already done.”

In 2017, Siddiqui withdrew his memoir, An Ordinary Life. When describing affairs with fellow actors, it was alleged he had misrepresented facts. Bole Chudiyan, its teaser claims, is again biographical. Siddiqui clarifies, “It isn’t based on my life as such, but it draws from incidents that happened when I was living in my village [Budhana in Uttar Pradesh]. After Motichoor..., I think it’s a second leg of my new journey.”

Siddiqui speaks like a workhorse, more interested in expanding his filmography than curating it. The star of films like Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Miss Lovely (2012) is obviously able to measure quality, but he doesn’t take his desire for quantity lightly. “I take acting very seriously and there are not many people who do. I’ll keep doing my kind of films, but it’s important to strike a balance,” he says. Seemingly aware that he isn’t going to strike gold at the box-office with every film, he adds, “Actors ought not to be affected by box-office collections. There are many reasons why a film works or doesn’t—marketing, show timings, etc.—so, I feel, it’s wrong to blame an actor for a film’s failure.”

On numerous occasions, Siddiqui has said that Anurag Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) is the best film he has ever acted in. Though it didn’t move the box-office needle, Siddiqui takes some pride in being able to immerse himself in the role of a serial killer: “The character left me disturbed. It was difficult to pick up his psyche, and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t affect me.” The actor claims that each time he takes something from a character, the character too takes something from him. Talking about Manto (2018), he says, “Now that was the kind of role that affords a certain understanding of self.”

When asked about which filmmakers he has enjoyed working with thus far, he mentions Kashyap and Nandita Das, and, surprisingly, Abhijit Panse, director of Thackeray (2018). Having decided to play the divisive Bal Thackeray, Siddiqui was accused of being tone-deaf by many. The actor, though, repeats his claim—an actor must not be encumbered by his or her ideology. “I find that ideology leaves you stiff in the way you think. Actors must be like water. They should take the shape of whatever character or ideology they are poured into. I should be able to be adaptable,” he affirms.

Even after 20 years in the Hindi film industry, Siddiqui says, “I never once felt that I’ve arrived, nor do I feel that I will ever be asked to leave. I’m habituated to being neutral and normal in every situation.” Every bit the Stoic, the actor responsible for making films such as The Lunchbox (2013) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) memorable, considers struggle and success to be “a part of life”. He asks, “If you break down when times are bad, only to heal when they’re good, what personality do you then have?”

In September, author Paulo Coelho added himself to the list of Siddiqui’s admirers, calling Sacred Games “one of the best series on Netflix”. So, will we be seeing Siddiqui reprise his role as Ganesh Gaitonde in a third season? “Nothing has been announced yet, but I’ve left Ganesh Gaitonde behind. I never miss the characters I’ve played. I am not in awe of Gaitonde. If I were, I’d finish my possibilities.” ■

SIDDIQUI TODAY DIVIDES HIS FILMS INTO TWO CATEGORIES—THE ONES FOR THE BAZAAR AND THE ONES FOR HIMSELF

—Shreevatsa Nevatia