2024-09-04 17:28:28
Renowned actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui wanted to become a sanyasi before becoming an actor. Nawaz, who came to Delhi recently, recalled the memories of the days spent here and his village in a special conversation with us.
You have been in the field of acting for such a long time. You have worked in both cinema and OTT? What difference do you feel between the two?
I have done only one series on OTT, Sacred Games. After that I have not done any web series. Talking about experience, I like working on the big screen. But it is also true that more people watch you on OTT. In that kind of cinema, there is no time limitation that the film will be released from this time to this time. You can sit at home anytime and watch whatever you feel like watching, whatever genre of film you feel like watching, you can enjoy it. However, both have their own specialties.
You like the big screen, but nowadays very few films are doing well on the big screen. What do you think is the reason for this?
I don’t know why she is not able to do it, because I don’t watch most of the movies. I go to the cinema hall and watch a movie only once in three-four years.
You have spent a lot of time in Delhi. When you come to Delhi, what is the first thing you miss?
First of all, I miss the small bhaturas of Bengali market and the biryani of Nizamuddin. I feel like going there and eating, but sometimes I miss all these things.
Would you like to share any incident from your days spent in Delhi with your loved ones?
There are a thousand such incidents. But one incident was very interesting. Those days I was in Delhi for a shooting. A female friend of mine had come to meet me. I told her let’s go to a park. We went to a park and sat there. I looked around to see if anyone was coming. I suddenly put my hand on her hand, she shook it off and said what are you doing. I said I felt like putting my hand on your hand. She said friend this is wrong. Now as soon as she said this, I remembered the police of my area that I am being beaten up. I got scared and started apologizing. I am sorry and started crying. Sorry I made a mistake. Then she explained to me that you are sensible, so if you need anything, you should take permission for it. You are going to someone’s house, you knock before leaving. You did not enter her house or anyone’s house in a hurry. I remember that incident of Delhi a lot whenever I come here.
You have earned so much fame in films, do you ever wonder that if you were not in the field of acting, what would you have been doing?
Then I would have become a sanyasi, because before coming into theatre, I had gone to Dharamshala. I stayed there for a few days. I wanted to become a sanyasi. Then things did not work out, so I came back. Then many thoughts used to come to my mind that I have become a sanyasi.
What was the reason for coming directly into acting instead of becoming a sanyasi? Very few people in your area are in the field of acting anyway?
Actually, while I was in Muzaffarnagar, it never even occurred to me that I would go into acting. But after coming out, I was wandering around aimlessly. Then someone showed me theatre. When I saw theatre, I felt that this is an amazing thing. There is an actor on stage and the audience is sitting here. If he does well, they praise him and if he does badly, they boo him. And if I do this, I will never get bored of it for the rest of my life. I was bored with other things. I used to do a job and I was bored of that too. So I thought that this can be done for the whole life.
When you go to your village, what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
You remember your childhood and go back to your childhood. You feel very good, you feel light. It feels as if nothing has gone wrong, everything is fine. You feel a little different because you are familiar with those places. You are familiar with those roads, those streets, those people whom you have seen since childhood. When you meet your friends, they have grown old. There are many things in the village to entertain you.