Nawazuddin Siddiqui (born 1974) also known as Nowaz is an Indian film actor who has appeared in some of Bollywood’s major films including, Black Friday (2004), New York (2009), Peepli Live (2010), Kahani (2012), Gangs of Wasseypur (2012) and Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 (2012).Early life and educationNawazuddin Siddiqui is from Budhana a small town of Muzaffarnagar district in Uttar Pradesh, where his father is a farmer. [2][3][4] Siddiqui grew up amongst nine siblings, seven brothers and two sisters. [5][2]After graduating in science from a local college, he worked as a chemist in a petrochemical company for a short while. But boredom set in soon, and he moved to Delhi, here in the next one and a half year period, he started watching plays, while working a watchman at an office. He got associated with Sakshi Theatre Group and worked with actors like Manoj Bajpai and Saurabh Shukla.Eventually he graduated from the The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi in 1996.Now he is a well known actor. CareerAfter graduating from NSD, he moved to Mumbai. Nawazuddin made his Bollywood debut in 1999, with a small role in Sarfarosh starring Aamir Khan. After moving to Mumbai he tried to get work in television, but did not achieve much success. After his debut, he appeared in short roles, where he remained unnoticed, despite his strong performances. He did a short film, The Bypass in 2003, where he appeared with actor, Irrfan Khan. Between 2002 and 2005, he was out of work, and lived in an apartment where he shared with four others, and struggled through his acting carrier by conducting occasional acting workshops. His appearance in Anurag Kashyap’s Black Friday (2007) paved way for other powerful roles. His first lead role in a feature film was in Prashant Bhargava’s PATANG, which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, for which Nawazuddin’s performance was praised by the world renowned film critic Roger Ebert (awarding the film 4 stars), a role which ‘transformed his acting styles’. In 2009, he appeared in a cameo role in hit song “emotional attyachar”” in a movie Dev D, in his moniker as Rangila along with his duo Rasila (known together as Patna ke Presley). However it was his role of a journalist in Aamir Khan Productions’s Peepli Live (2010). That movie first got him a recognition as an actor. This was followed by a role as police informer Gopi in biopic, Paan Singh Tomar, directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia, also in the same year.He, however became a household name post Kahaani (2012), where he played the archetypal short tempered cop Khan. Gangs of Wasseypur followed which furthered his fame. He played his first lead role as Sonu Duggal in Ashim Ahluwalia’s Miss Lovely that premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, a role Nawazuddin describes as his “”most real performance so far.”” Nawazuddin also played a lead role in his following films, Gangs of Wasseypur – Part II and Aatma. He appeared in Aamir Khan’s 2012 release, Talash. Gangs of Wasseypur has been touted as a career defining film for Nawazuddin, where he played the role of Faizal Khan, a second son of Sardar Khan, played by Manoj Bajpai. His gaudy style of dress, magnificent accent and out-of-the-way mannerism in Gangs of Wasseypur left an impression on Bollywood critics. His film PATANG, initially released in the U.S. and Canada, garnered much attention for Nawazuddin with rave reviews from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Roger Ebert.Siddiqui is best known for his roles in The Lunchbox (2013), which premiered as part of the International Critics’ Week at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and won him multiple awards, Manto (2018), for which his groundbreaking performance won him Best Actor at the 2018 Asian Pacific Screen Awards[8] and Raman Raghav 2.0 for which he won the Fancine Malaga Award in Spain[9] and in Asia Pacific Screen Awards[10] both in the category of Best Actor. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the only Actor in the world having 8 films officially selected and screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.[11] Inspite of being very busy with film shoots, Siddiqui continues to take time out to do farming in his native place in Uttar Pradesh (North India).[12] He is an active motivational speaker, drawing on his struggles and experiences to inspire. He stars in two Emmy nominated series, Sacred Games (2019), a two-season Netflix original series for which he was conferred with the GQ – Men of the Year Award 2018 for the second time[13] and United Kingdom’s McMafia directed by James Watkins. Recently Nawazuddin Siddiqui was awarded with the highest honorary, The Lesley Ho Asian Film Talent Award at the prestigious Singapore International Film Festival[14] for his globally appreciated series Sacred Games duology.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Movies
Dev D
Dev who, after spurning Paro’s love due to a misunderstanding, turns to drugs and vodka for solace. Paro moves on but Dev still is in remorse. He meets Chanda, a prostitute with problems of her own. Dev likes her but his penchant for self-destruction prevents him and Chanda from truly…
Kahaani
Kolkata is abuzz with the preparations for the annual Durga Puja festival, as seven months pregnant Vidya Bagchi steps off the airplane from London. Her first stop is the local police station to file a missing person report. Weeks ago, her husband Arnab arrived in India for a job assignment.…
Aaja Nachle
An unexpected phone call shakes Dia (Madhuri Dixit) out of her dance rehearsal in New York. Her teacher, her guru, is dying and she must return to India. The town where she grew up, the town where she learnt to live and to dance. Also the town she left on…
Aatma
Aatma is the journey of a single mother Maya Verma who finally starts her life afresh with her six year old daughter Nia but as Maya starts to pick up the pieces of her life, strange things starts happening around her. Maya’s six year old daughter Nia starts to speak…
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local
Employed in Kurla in a Multinational Call Center where he is instructed to speak with an accent, Nilesh Rastogi misses the last 1:40 AM Kalyan-bound local-train to return home to Vikhroli. Asked to leave the platform by a Hawaldar, he goes looking for an alternate place to hang out until…
Firaaq
Following riots in Gujarat, Arati experiences guilt that she didn’t open her door to shelter an injured Muslim woman; her husband Sanjay had looted merchandise from shops and his brother Devan had even sexually molested Muslim women. Young lad Mohsin leaves the safety of an army-guarded camp to look for…
Sarfarosh
Ajay Rathod is a no-nonsense police officer from Mumbai Crime Branch. Long time ago his elder brother was killed by terrorists which caused him to quit his medical studies and join Indian Police Service. He is a great admirer of Pakistan-based ghazal singer Gulfam Hassan. During one of Hassan’s concerts,…
Badlapur
A young man (Raghu) wants revenge from the people who killed his wife and son in a bank robbery.There are two suspects in this case ,one escapes with the money and the other gets caught by the cops and is sentenced 20 years in jail. Fifteen years later he is…
Songs
Summer 2007
Believing in ‘beginner’s luck’, Rahul Sharma, encouraged by three other fellow-medical students of Mumbai’s Kasturba Medical College (Qateel, Shomindu, and Priyanka) decides to become the Students’ President, opposing Prakash Dubey. When mainstream political goons get involved, resulting in intimidation and violence, he and his motley crew, along with Vishaka, decide…
Bajrangi Bhaijaan
A little mute girl from a Pakistani village gets lost on her return back from a trip to India. In Kurukshetra, she meets Pawan – an ardent devotee of Lord Hanuman – who is in the midst of a challenge posed by his lover’s father. In trying to discover the…
Talaash
Seeing reflections of Mumbai under the red light, Talaash is a tale of love lost, fatal attraction and above all the quest to solve a perfect crime. Suspense at its core, Talaash explores Mumbai’s underbelly like never before. Aamir Khan plays an investigation officer, Inspector Shekhawat who receives a phone…
Hey Ram
The film starts with Saketh Ram as a very old man and almost immediately goes into flashback. As a young man he is among his friends, in conviviality. He has taken a Bengali wife, Aparna, and everything is wonderful in his life, However the year is 1946, and the imminent…
New York
NEW YORK is a contemporary story of friendship set against the larger than life backdrop of a city often described as the centre of the world. Omar (Neil Nitin Mukesh) has gone abroad for the first time in his life and soon enough he begins to see and love America…
Paan Singh Tomar
Paan Singh Tomar is a Hindi-language film, based on the true story of a runner employed by the Army and has won Gold medal at Indian National Games but forced to become notorious baaghi. It is directed by Tigmanshu Dhulia.
Chittagong
Set in the turbulence of the 1930s British India, a 14 year old boy, Jhunku, and his journey to find where he belongs. For the first time in Indian history, the British army is defeated by a ragtag army of schoolboys and their teacher, Masterda. Called a traitor by his…
Patang
In the city of Ahmadabad, six people are taken on an extraordinary journey during India’s largest kite festival. Each year a million kites circle the skies of the old city. Wishing to share the festival’s colorful splendor with his daughter, a thriving Delhi businessman takes her on a surprise trip…
Peepli Live
In the lead up to state elections in the Indian village of Peepli, two poor farmers, Natha and Budhia, face losing their land over an unpaid bank loan. Desperate, they seek help from an apathetic local politician, who scornfully suggests they commit suicide to benefit from a government program that…
Fun Facts
Younger brother, Shamaas Nawab Siddiqui, is a director.
Father of a daughter - Shora.
Wife's name is Aaliya Anjali Siddique.
His father Nawabuddin Siddiqui (76), who was paralyzed for a few years, passed away due to brain hemorrhage. [2015]
Is a rising star of the new wave of Bollywood cinema.
Starred in the shelved movie "Black Currency"" (2013). Starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui