Here’s a success story like no other! Nawazuddin Siddiqui struggled for years to get even a break in the industry, working as a chemist and a watchman even while he pursued his passion for theatre. Would you look at him now – he’s on the cover of this month’s GQ, making it his first appearance on the front of a mainstream magazine. It’s a great cover, too; Nawazuddin looks fantastic in it and we love that he’s labelled as “India’s finest actor” in the blurb. That’s really not a stretch at all – he’s arguably the biggest talent we’ve got in the industry today. What makes it even better is when you consider all the dedication he has and all the hard work he’s put in just to reach where he has today. In the behind the scenes video from the shoot, Mr Siddiqui speaks more about how difficult his life used to be, why he’s happy about the fact that he’s not “conventionally good looking” and how he believes honesty will take you where you need to go. Check out the video – it’s their first ever Hindi video.
My favourite line has to be, “Yehi karna tha. 30 saal mein hota, toh 30 saal mein bhi yehi karta. 30 saal aur struggle karna padta toh 30 saal mein bhi yehi karta. Iske alava mujhe kuch aata hi nahin tha.” (“This is what I had to do. If it had to happen in 30 years, then I would do this in 30 years. If I had to struggle for 30 more years, then I’d still do this 30 years from now. I know nothing other than this.”)
Him being on the cover does bring up something worth discussing, though. How do you tread the line between receiving recognition and – for lack of a better phrase – selling out? He’s one of the rare talents in our industry and also one of those people who indie filmmakers would want to turn to for their projects. But what happens now that he’s signed on biggies such as Kick with Salman Khan? We’re asking you – are you wary about what will happen now that Nawazuddin is going mainstream?
In any case, he’s receiving some well-deserved recognition and we’re all happy that the industry on a whole has been appreciative of his work. It’s always nice when someone attains success – especially someone who has worked so hard at it for so long, and who actually deserves it.