Nawazuddin Siddiqui: “I am proud  to be nominated For Serious Men”

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Tells  Subhash K Jha Why The Emmy Nomination For Serious Men Feels  Right

Congratulations, Nawaz you do us proud as always?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Thank you, Sir. I still remember  how much you encouraged and  supported me  when  I was  a struggler.

I first noticed  you in a cameo  in  Kabir Khan’s  New York. You were so convincing in your monologue  as a suspected terrorist that I thought  it was live  footage?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: I remember that  vividly. Woh ek sunehra pal ttha(that was  a golden moment). A lot has changed since that cameo. Now I am in a position to pick and choose. For the  first  ten years  of my career  I took anything that came  my way.  Just being in front of  the camera  was  enough  for me.

Did you go through a  lot of humiliating  rejections and snubs?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Sir, dhakke  toh sab outsiders  ko khane padte hai(every outsider gets pushed around in the beginning). If you are  from the  film industry you don’t  only  get  your first  chance on  a platter  you also get chances over and  over again until you succeed.

 But  those who don’t deserve success don’t get it  no matter how many chances they  get. Which is why you are here, Armaan Kohli is  not?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Baat  toh sahi hai. Given a second chance, I’d still go through the same  struggle. It made me  a better actor, if not  a better human being.

And now look  where  you are  today, on the threshold of an Emmy?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Sir I am proud  to be nominated  alongside such  fantastic actors as David Tennant  and Christian Tapian. Itna hi kafi hai ke main yahan tak pahuch gaya hoon(it’s enough  for me that I’v reached this far).

Wouldn’t you  like  to win  the Emmy?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: It would be  nice to win. But I am not holding my breath  for  it. For me  winning or losing is  not important. Recognition of any kind is important for me. Recently I won  the  Filmfare Middle East award  in Dubai. It meant  a  lot for me.

But an Emmy is  an Emmy?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Bilkul  , Sir. If I win  it,nothing  like it.  But I’d  like to  point out that I am  no stranger  to  international recognition.  I was in Cannes with  Geetu Mohandas’  Liar’s Dice , Anurag Kashyap’s  Raman  Raghav  and  Nandita Das’ Manto. Manto was the 9th film of mine that I was in Cannes with.

You have also been compared with the Italian legend  Marcello Mastroianni in the international press?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Yes. In 2018 Hollywood Reporter  called me  the  Indian Marcello Mastroianni. I  couldn’t sleep for days. Marcello Mastroianni is one of my favourite actors. But then so is Dilip Kumar. I’d be just as happy to be  compared with him.