EXCLUSIVE: Manto actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Critics ruin the films that are appreciated by people

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of the finest actors in the Indian film industry. The journey for the talented actor wasn't a smooth ride and he had to constantly fight battles for making his identity in this competitive field of glamour and glitz. To reach the position he is currently in his career, the actor had to do small roles in many films. In films like Sarfarosh, Munna Bhai M.B.B.S, Aaja Nachle, New York, he played small roles which were not noticed by everyone. The actor got his much-deserved break with Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur (1&2) in 2012.

In an industry where star kids are given more priority than outsiders, Nawazuddin Siddiqui carved his own niche and proved his acting prowess. He might not be a Khan and Kapoor or may not enjoy a huge fan following like them, but Nawaz has worked with some talented directors and has done very unconventional roles. Films like GoW, Miss Lovely, Badlapur, Manjhi - The Moutain Man, Raman Raghav 2.0, Haraamkhor, and Raees prove why he is the best in the industry currently. 

The actor will be next seen in Nandita Das' Manto, film based on the life of Urdu writer Saadat Hasan Manto. During India's pre and post-independence period, Manto was considered as a controversial writer because of his bold and brutal writings about the country, partition (between India-Pakistan) and women. Manto was premiered this year during the Cannes Festival and received positive reviews. The film is all set to release this Friday, September 21, 2018, in India.

In an EXCLUSIVE interview with Pinkvilla, I asked the Manjhi actor about his experience of playing Manto, how he chooses his characters and much more.

Read the full interview below:

What was the reason you agreed to do Manto?

Manto ki truthfulness, daring, unke thoughts jiske wajah se maine Manto ke liye haan bola. (I said yes to do Manto because of its truthfulness, daring and his thoughts.)

How did you prep for Saadat Hasan Manto's role?

Mere saamne sabse bada task yeh tha ki main kitna apne performance ko leke truthful ho sakta hoon, honest ho sakta hoon. So preparation uski tareeke se ki thi like unki physicality aur thoughts humne pakde. (The biggest task for me was to see how truthful and honest I can be towards my character. We focused on his physicality and thoughts when it comes to preparation.) 

What changed in your life while playing Manto's character?

Bohot saari cheezon mein change aya Manto ka kirdar karte hue.. Uss waqt main real life mein itna honest ho gaya tha ki mujhe trouble uthana pada. Toh yeh seekha ke sach bolna bohot difficult hai kyunki dusra aadmi digest nahi kar sakta agar sacche aap ho bhi jaye. Dusra aadmi judgemental ho jaata hai aapko dekhke. Mushkile aati hai sach bolne se. (A lot of changes took place while playing Manto's character. At that time, I became so honest in real life that I had to face a lot of trouble. From Manto, I learned that it is difficult to speak truth as the other person can't digest it even if you are honest. The other person becomes judgmental towards you. A lot of problems come your way when you speak the truth.)

Manto received a good response at the Cannes film festival this year. How does it feel? And what's going on in your mind as the film will release in India too?

Of course, bohot accha lagta hai. Jab hum log Cannes mein the, screening hui aur bohot acche acche reviews aaye. Yaha thoda sa darr lagta hai kis tareeke se reviews aayenge. Kuch ek do critics ko chod ke jyadatar bohot biased ho gaye hai aur bohot hi negativity bhari padi hai unme. (Of course, it feels good. When the screening happened at Cannes, it received a lot of positive reviews. Here, I am scared what kind of reviews it will get. Apart from a few critics, a lot of them have become biased and they have a lot of negativity.)

How the experience of playing Manto's character?

Bohot hi amazing experience raha. At that time, I was totally feeling like Manto. Aur  karne ke baad mujhe ehsaas hua ke thank god, kuch kiya hai iss baat ka proud hoon main. Mujhe nahi maaloom ke kis tarah se log lenge, lekin mujhe bohot satisfaction mila Manto ka role karke.  (It was an amazing experience. At that time, I was totally feeling like Manto. After I was done with the film, I was grateful and felt proud for doing it. I don't know how people will perceive the film, but doing Manto's role gave me a lot of satisfaction.)

What do you keep in mind while choosing your characters?

Jyadatar main yeh dhyaan mein rakhta hoon ke mere characters koi one-shaded na ho, grey shades ho. Usme grey-shades ho toh kuch aachai bhi aur kuch burai bhi ho. Hero type ke characters na ho jaisa typical Bollywood hero hota hai, sab kuch accha hi accha ho uske saath. Magar hero bhi ho toh uske andar bhi kuch kami honi chahiye. (I keep in the mind that my characters are not one-shaded, they should have grey shades with some good and bad qualities too. The character shouldn't be the typical Bollywood hero with whom only good things happen. Even if it's a hero, he should have some flaws too.)

You recently said that a lot of nonsense films become hit at the box office. What made you say that?

Bohot saari filmen aise hoti hai jo log dekh ke aate hai aur cinema hall se bahar nikalke hi uske baare mein bolte hai bohot hi kharab hai. Lekin tab tak wo film toh hit ho jaati hai. Maine uss context mein kaha tha. (There are many films which people watch in theatres and when they come out, they say bad things about it. But until then, the film becomes a hit. I said it in that context.)

Box office collection is considered as a proof of a film's success. Most of your films receive good reviews by people but don't become a 'box office hit'. Does it affect you?

Uske liye mujhe alag si film karni padegi. Formula film hoti hai apne yaha, shaadi-vivahon wali. Toh wo karne padegi. Agar main wo filmen karunga toh wo bhi hit ho jayengi. Koi badi baat nahi hai. (For this, I will have to do different kinds of films, the formula films based on weddings. If I start doing such films, even they will be a hit. It's not a big deal.)

Some films don't work well at the box office. But when it is available on digital platforms, people like them, for example, Bhavesh Joshi. Do you think it is unfair to the directors and actors when this happens?

Yeh bad luck hai logon ka, wo bohot acchi movie thi. But logon ne uss waqt pata nahi kya aya unke dimaag mein. Iss saal ki one of the best filmon mein se ek hai Bhavesh Joshi. Lekin usse ghatiyan darje ki film log dekhne jaate hai, pata nahi kyu nahi dekhi film. Yeh sirf logon ka nahi, yeh jo critics log hai unhone ne barbaad kar rakhi hai iss tarah ke filme. Jab wo film release hui thi mujhe yaad hai usko critics ne kitna barbaad kiya tha critically. Ab kyunki wo film Netflix pe hai, log dekh rahe hai toh appreciate kar rahe hai. Jin filmon ko log appreciate karte hai unko critics barbaad karte hai, especially choti filmon ko toh barbaad kar hi rahe hai kuch critics. (It's people's bad luck, it was a very nice movie. But don't know what were people thinking at that time. It is one of the best films of this year. But people go and watch films which are worse, don't know why people didn't watch it. This is not just people, even critics have ruined such kind of films. I remember when the film released, the critics bashed it. Now it is on Netflix, so people are watching it and appreciating it. Critics ruin the films that are appreciated by people. Some critics are especially ruining the small-budget films.)