Nawazuddin Siddiqui says nobody has made a film above Rs 25 crore budget with him, Irrfan, Manoj Bajpayee; opens up on being judged for his dark skin colour

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has always broken stereotypes surrounding the quintessential Hindi cinema hero. He's seen his own share of struggle and carved his own niche. Today, he's considered one of the finest actors we have. In a recent interview, the actor has opened up on his struggles and how he still faces judgements becuase of his looks.

When asked if he gets bothered for people judging him, he said during a chat with Nayandeep Rakshit, "Vo toh aaj tak jhelne padte hain. Thankfully, the industry doesn’t think like that, but it still exists in the society. In my initial days, many people said, ‘Aap actor dikhte nahi ho’ (you don’t look like an actor). That used to make me feel bad. Kya karein ab? Kaala hu toh yahan tak pahuch gaya, agar gora hota toh kya kardeta main (I am dark, still reached till here, imagine what all I could have done if I was fair).”


Nawazuddin also added that he does not have any fears about his career now about being rejected or the box office even. He said, "I don’t have any fear. But yes, there are many actors who have been rejected, but keep coming back because of their film background and support system. Hum jaise log, main, Manoj Bajpayee or more actors like us, unko nahi hota yeh…box office, etc. What will you say to Manoj Bajpayee? Vo box office se upar uth chuka hai. He is not chasing it."

However, he feels upset about the fact that nobody wants to make a film with actors like him. He added, "For example, Naseer sahab (Naseeruddin Shah), Om Puri, Manoj bhai, Irrfan, or other actors like us, humein lekar Rs 25 crore se upar kabhi kisi ne film banaayi hi nahi (Nobody ever made a film with budget over Rs 25 crore with actors like me, Naseer sir, Om Puri, Manoj and Irrfan). Secondly, people want to watch our films but the screens don’t reach there. If you want to see our box office numbers, then atleast give us that distribution of screens as well. Only then you’ll get to know how many people want to watch us. Today, we talk highly of Irrfan. Ofcourse, he was a great actor. But, no one cast him in a film with a Rs 20-25 crore budget."

He further revealed, "This is the reason why it’s said that there are two kinds of actors, ek public ka aur ek industry ka. Even if people don’t want to watch the industry’s actor, their films are released right in front of your house. But, the actor whose film public actually wants to see, their film is released in 200-300 screens, ek subah ka show aur ek raat ka. I get bothered."