“The world might remain fixated on formula, but I will continue to experiment,” says Nawazuddin Siddiqui. In Delhi, to talk about Anand Surapur’s Rautu Ka Raaz, his latest character study of a “slow-footed” police officer from a quiet hamlet in Uttarakhand that is untouched by crime until a murder disturbs the tranquillity of the place, the versatile actor says he doesn’t hold secrets like Bollywood stars.
“My life has been an open book. Even when I tried to keep something out of public discourse, I was not given that privilege.” Yet, he says, it doesn’t affect the variety of roles offered to him.
“I have never been image-conscious. Heroes manage to keep the personal out of the picture but still do the same stuff on screen. I have been lucky that the industry allowed me to play personalities as diverse as (Saadat Hasan) Manto and (Balasaheb) Thackeray. They were poles apart not only from each other, but also from who I am and where I come from. I am yet to do a film set in Western Uttar Pradesh where I get to speak the local language.”
When he was shooting for the imposing police officer in Kahaani, he was also playing the seedy, physically-disabled Taimur Langda in Talaash. “I have resisted moulds,” he underlines.
Someone who prefers shooting outdoors in real locations rather than on sets in the Filmcity, Nawaz says, “Atmosphere speaks to an actor and gives a kick that brings a natural appeal to the character. On the sets, it becomes a little mechanical... I realised it early in my career when I shot a short film with Irrfan bhai in the deserts of Jaisalmer.”
Negi, the police officer in Rautu Ke Raaz, is not as sharp and prompt as the one in Kahaani, he says. Nawaz gives it to his circumstances and the location. “He is suffering from a personal trauma because of which he doesn’t sleep properly and behaves awkwardly during the investigation. There is a name for the condition,” he says, referring to post-traumatic stress disorder.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui in ‘Rautu Ka Raaz’ | Photo Credit: ZEE5/YouTube
Then, he says, the film is based in a slow-paced atmosphere, and the storytelling follows the languid life in hills “where silence matters” and, “you can hear your voice”. “We spent days before the shooting in the region. It impacted my body language as the Durga Puja atmosphere in Kolkata had in Kahaani.
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Not pleased with the way a section of streaming platforms are progressing, Nawaz, who counts Photograph (2019) and Serious Men (2020) as his most significant works in the last decade, says it seems the lavish big-budget projects and stars are keen on occupying the space, originally meant for quality world cinema.
He sees Photograph, Ritesh Batra’s quaint romantic drama between a street photographer and a bright student, as a milestone because “Usually we talk about extraordinary characters, but here is a man whom you won’t give a second look and, more importantly, by the end, you don’t really know whether the two were in love or not.
“In life, you come across a female acquaintance with whom you spend time and feel good, but when she moves on, you are left wondering whether there was unsiyat (affection) or not,” muses Nawaz.
He doesn’t buy the idea that political interference or political climate has changed the nature of the content on streaming platforms. “It is a result of internal tussle and one-upmanship. Those indulging in making propaganda films are doing it on their own; the ministry is not forcing them to. Similarly, no one stopped us from making or releasing Afwaah (on rumour mongering and fake news on social media). The distribution system was at fault for its box-office performance. It was released only in 50 theatres. I am waiting for the time when a film led by actors like Nawazuddin, Manoj Bajpayee, or Pankaj Tripathi gets 5000 screens. People want to watch our films; at least give us a chance,” he says.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
He holds it is not the idea but the budgets that fail, and the chances of budgets going wrong are higher with stars than actors like him. “The OTT release takes away the stamp of hit and flop that comes at the box-office, and we know who are more worried about the image.”
Nawaz pins the hope on young filmmakers who are “in awe of Bollywood” and regional cinema, particularly Malayalam. “The way that stars of Malayalam cinema are experimenting with content should inspire us. Who would have thought Mammootty would explore a subject like Kaathal?”
But he also admits that experimentation and too much faith in the youth has its flip side as he discovered in his last two-three films where it seemed the makers relied only on his performance to sail through. “When you take risks, it is bound to happen. At times, storytelling loses way, and sometimes the editing lets you down, but one should keep trying.”
Nawaz has just finished another biopic that he hopes will bring him back on the world stage. Produced by Sejal Shah of Serious Men fame, Nawaz is playing Costao Fernandez, the retired upright customs officer from Goa who got embroiled in a controversy in the early 1990s after a politician’s son got killed during a chase in a gold smuggling case. “I got hooked on how he questions the corrupt and doesn’t give up on honesty.”
Rautu Ka Raaz premieres on ZEE5 on June 28
