Nawazuddin Siddiqui is quite literally, living a character for his latest film directed by Nandita das, where he plays Urdu littérateur Sadat Haasan Manto.
Explaining his preparedness, Nawaz says, “Thanks to Nandita’s research on Manto, I feel I know him well enough to get into his mind and body. The body part is relatively easier. I need to dress the way he did, and as long as I’m playing him, I need to live my life the way he did. Alone. Writing words that created magic on paper.”
Now that Raees has released, Nawaz will free himself of all other commitments. “I will shut myself away from all communication,” he insists.
The actor has been reading up as much as humanly possible on Manto. “I plan to recreate Manto’s world around me. I will have my room re-furnished with the things that Manto lived with. I will dress like him, try to eat the food that he ate, sleep on the kind of bed that he did, wear the kind of clothes he did and talk like him. If I enter Manto’s physical world, I feel I can penetrate his mind,” he adds.
Nawaz starts shooting for Manto in March in Mumbai. “As long as I play him I won’t be taking on any other project. I want to do justice to the awe-inspiring personality of this great man. And to be able to do this I am willing to make any sacrifice required,” he says.
