“Jab Tak Todenge nahi, tab Tak chodenge nahi” says Manjhi The Mountain Man protagonist Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Popularly known for his 2018 Netflix Series ‘Sacred Games’ where he played Ganesh Gaitonde can be claimed to be the milestone of his acting career. Born in 1974 in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Siddiqui made his Bollywood debut in Aamir Khan starrer Sarfarosh.
Siddiqui belonged to a Zamindari Muslim family of Lambardars. Following his graduation, he moved to Vadodara to work as a chemist. In search of a new job, he moved to Delhi where is developed his passion for acting and participated in around 10 plays to get admission to the National School of Drama. Belonging to a background that has no connection with acting, he had to face humiliation as well as demoralisation from time to time even from his kin group. He realised the importance of being trained as an actor as it would make him expertise in that field his not so typical Bollywood body and personality.
The actor claims that he never kept a backup plan as his career because he had unshakable confidence in his training and passion. The actor with all his years of experience that the universe bends before you when you have a stubborn desire and dedication. When he moved to the City of Dreams i.e, Mumbai, the extremely busy and steadfast lifestyle overwhelmed him, made him think he was nowhere suited to be a part of the grand city.
However, in the due course of time, he was able to adjust according to the city’s schedule. He had experienced 10-12 years of his in a deadlock without any secure source of job. He shared a flat with four other people and survived just by doing petty acting workshops. In fact, during the years of his struggle, the actor remembers surviving on negligible and odd roles. He remembers now that in every office he went and said that he was an actor, he would regularly hear, ‘Shakal se toh lag Nahi Rahe!’
Nonetheless, the actor believes that it was his years of struggle which has made him the person he is today. Much before gaining stardom, when all he got was just roles for one or two scenes, he found happiness in it for he abandoned the idea of being a blockbuster hero. He claimed to have minutely observed everyone he encountered over the years. He knew one day all his roles would align with the dynamism of the world.
He claims that there is nobody we can complain to whenever disappointment hits us because it was only us who chose that pathway and it is only us who can make it right. In one of his speeches he said ‘, There is no date and time for success. As humans keep yourself pushing until you reach your highest goal.’
Siddiqui is best known for his 2013 film, The Lunch Box starting Irffan Khan, Manto (2018), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Manjhi The Mountain Man (2015), Haramkhor(2015), BajrangiBhaijan ( 2015), among many others. In an interview with the Humans of Bombay interview page, the actor said that “But I did it. I went from playing an insignificant role in Munnabhai MBBS to winning a Filmfare award for my role in Lunchbox. I went from being unrecognised in Sarfarosh to being known as Ganesh Gaitonde across the nation. I went from being a watchman to becoming the ‘watch me’ man – and I’m nowhere near being done, so keep watching – I’m here to stay!” Siddiqui has indeed been a man who can trigger dreams of endless possibilities among people who never dared to dream.
By – Anisha Kashyap
