Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Actors keep playing 'hero' till they are 60, I don’t want that

Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays ruthless characters on screen with so much conviction that one might think that’s how he is in real life as well. But when he greets us with a polite ‘Kaisi hain aap?’ and a gentle handshake as we meet him at a suburban hotel for a chat, we see him in a new light.

The award-winning actor will be seen as the antagonist in Sacred Games, which is based on Vikram Chandra’s epic novel by the same name. The first Indian Original series that will be streamed on Netflix this week also stars Saif Ali Khan and Radhika Apte. While the powerhouse performer had not read the book earlier, he made it a point to familiarise himself with it during the two-and-a-half-month shoot. 

“Vikramaditya Motwane and Anurag Kashyap, who are the directors, had narrated the script to me earlier. They had told me how they wanted to create the character and take it ahead. During the shoot, I used to make someone sit and read out the novel to me,” he says. In a tête-à-tête with After Hrs, Nawaz reveals how he approached this unconventional character and why grey roles appeal to him. Excerpts…

You’ve played the role of a gangster in quite a few films. How did you ensure that you portray Ganesh Gaitonde differently?

See, if you want to categorise him, then he’s a gangster. But I don’t think of such tags. He comes to Mumbai from a small village in Konkan with big dreams. Maybe his path is not right because his surroundings have been like that. He manages to escape unhurt from a lot of things, so he starts believing that he’s invincible. That’s how I have approached the role. I didn’t play him with a certain attitude just because he’s a gangster. That’s how I approach every character.

Do you find the digital space exciting? Would you be willing to experiment more on this platform?

I’m quite excited about it. It’s a dream for any actor to showcase his work and sensibilities to a wider audience. It’s through the digital platform that we can show the entire world ki hum bhi hain. We have shot and treated the series with the same discipline and hard work as we would for a film.

You recently appeared in the BBC crime drama McMafia, helmed by James Watkins. How was that experience? 

James had seen my work in Miss Lovely (2012) and The Lunchbox (2013). The show was shot mainly in Croatia. The experience was good. James has also directed a couple of episodes of Black Mirror. He is a fabulous director who manages to convey subtle nuances.

On one hand, you play fictional characters like Ganesh Gaitonde; while on the other, you’re doing biopics on real people like Saadat Hasan Manto and Bal Thackeray. What is more challenging for you?

I don’t have such fixed notions. I feel that as an actor, I should expand my horizons as much as possible. If I don’t, I will get limited, just the way heroes become. They keep playing hero till they are 60. I don’t want that. There is just one life to live. Jitna kar sakte ho, utna karo.

Manto and Thackeray were people with different ideologies. How do you play such characters?

That’s the fun of it, to play such different people. The amount of trust and hard work I have put in Manto, I have put in for Thackeray as well.

You have played a handful of positive roles in your career. What is the appeal that dark/grey characters have for you?

Black or white characters have no shades. It’s the grey characters who are colourful. White characters — the heroes — have nothing to do. They just keep standing like sticks, while the others around them adorn the film. There is no mazaa in that. Hollywood actors Robert De Niro and Al Pacino have mainly played characters with grey shades. That’s where you get to see what the actor is all about. Even I am selfish. I prefer grey characters because there is more scope in them.