NAWAZUDDIN

SIDDIQUI
By : Sandeep Kumar Singh
Nawazuddin Siddiqui born 19 May 1974 is an Indian actor, known for his works in
Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui’s
feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in Patang (2012),
and his performance was appreciated by cinema critic Roger Ebert. He also
gained international recognition for his work alongside director Anurag Kashyap in
Black Friday (2007), the Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) duology and Raman Raghav
2.0.
Siddiqui is best known for his roles in The Lunchbox (2013), Manto (2018), and
Raman Raghav 2.0. Siddiqui is the only actor in the world to have 8 films officially
selected and screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.
Siddiqui continues to take time out from his filming schedule to farm in his native
Uttar Pradesh. He has starred in two Emmy nominated series, Sacred Games
(2019) and United Kingdom's McMafia.
Early Life

Siddiqui was born on 19 May 1974 in Budhana, a small town and tehsil in Muzaffarnagar
district, Uttar Pradesh, India, into a zamindari Muslim family of Lambardars. He is the
eldest of his eight siblings and spent most of his youth in Uttarakhand.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Gurukul Kangri

Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar. Following this, he worked as a chemist in Vadodara for a
year, before leaving for Delhi in search of a new job. Once in Delhi, he was instantly
drawn to acting after watching a play. In pursuit of securing admission at the National
School of Drama(NSD) in New Delhi, he acted in over ten plays with a group of friends,
including one in Dehradun, to fulfil one of the criteria for admission.
Career
Siddiqui went to the National School of Drama, New Delhi. After graduating from NSD in 1999, he moved to Mumbai.
Siddiqui made his Bollywood debut in the year 1999, with a small role in the Aamir Khan starrer Sarfarosh. He then appeared in Ram Gopal Varma's
Shool (1999), Jungle (2000); and Rajkumar Hirani's Munnabhai MBBS (2003).

In 2007, Black Friday was a nominee for the Golden Leopard. In 2009, he appeared in a cameo role in the song "Emotional Atyachar" in the movie
Dev D in his role of Rangila, along with his duet partner Rasila (known together as Patna ke Presley). In the same year, he appeared in New York
(2009). However, it was his role of a journalist in Anusha Rizvi's Peepli Live (2010), that first got him wide recognition as an actor. In 2012, he
appeared in Prashant Bhargava's Patang: The Kite (2012) which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival.
Siddiqui's performance was praised by film critic Roger Ebert, stating that the role "transformed his acting style“ and he awarded him the Thumbsup
Trophy. The film was subsequently released in the U.S. and Canada, and garnered much attention with rave reviews from The New York Times.

He then appeared in Kahaani (2012), in which he played the archetypal short-tempered intelligence officer Khan. Anurag Kashyap's gangster epic
Gangs of Wasseypur followed, which furthered his fame. He played his first primary role as Sonu Duggal in Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely, which
premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, a role Siddiqui describes as his "most real performance so far". Siddiqui then followed this up with the
sequel to Gangs of Wasseypur. In 2013, he played the lead role in the horror flick Aatma. The Lunchbox (2013) premiered as part of the International
Critics' Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won him multiple awards. He appeared in Aamir Khan's 2012 release Talash. In 2014, he played
the lead antagonist Shiv Gajra, in the blockbuster Kick.

In 2015, Siddiqui's films Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Manjhi - The Mountain Man were released, and he was praised for his roles. Siddiqui received the
Special Jury Award at the 2012 National Film Awards. and the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2013. His work in Raman Raghav 2.0 in
2016 won him the Fancine Malaga Award in Spain and in Asia Pacific Screen Awards, both in the category of Best Actor. Manto (2018) was a
groundbreaking performance that won him Best Actor at the 2018 Asian Pacific Screen Awards.
Celebrated author Paulo Coelho had recommended Sacred Games to his Twitter followers and lauded Nawazuddin's work calling it "One of the best
series on Netflix with the great actor Nawazuddin“.
Personal Life

Siddiqui lives in Mumbai with his younger brother, Shamas Nawab Siddiqui who is a director. Nawazuddin
is married to Aaliya and they have a daughter, Shora, and a son, Yaani, who was born on the actor's 41st
birthday. On 19 May 2020, his wife Aaliya revealed in an interview to The Indian Express newspaper that
she had sent a legal notice seeking divorce to end their 11 years of marriage.

In spite of being very busy with film shoots, Siddiqui continues to take time out to do farming in his native
place in Uttar Pradesh. He aims to educate the farmers about the new techniques available and how they can
help them for the better. He also implemented new irrigation techniques in Budhana, which helped the
farmers there tremendously.
Awards

Siddiqui's first lead role in a feature film was in Prashant Bhargava's Patang, which premiered at the Berlin Film
Festival, for which Nawazuddin's performance has been praised by noted film critic Roger Ebert (awarding the film
4/4 stars), a role which "transformed his acting style".

He appeared in four major films of 2012 – Kahaani (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur – Part
2 (2012) and Talaash (2012), all of which earned him wide critical reception and awards including Screen Award for
Best Supporting Actor, Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Male both for his role as Taimur in
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within as well as Stardust Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Gangs of
Wasseypur.

He won the title of Breakthrough Talent at the 2012 GQ Men of the Year Awards. Siddiqui was awarded the Special
Jury Award at the 60th National Film Awards 2012, for his work in the films Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, Dekh
Indian Circus and Talaash.

Recently Nawazuddin Siddiqui was awarded with the highest honorary, The Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award at
the prestigious Singapore International Film Festival for Sacred Games.
Bhagwan ke bharose mat baithye , kya pata bhagwan humre bharose baitha ho.
Thank You