I’d be dragged out by the collar: Nawazuddin on getting roughed up on sets for wanting to eat with the top actors
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Nawazuddin Siddiqui struggled for several years in the Hindi film industry before getting his big break with Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur: Part II.
After finally getting his due and recognition as an actor and also receiving significant roles under prominent banners now, Siddiqui recalls his earlier times when he wasn’t well-known.
The actor while speaking to BBC Hindi shared that he was often disrespected by film crews and producers when he was doing small roles in whatever projects that he could bag. He said that people used to misbehave with him when he wasn’t as successful as now.
“Of course, thousands of times. Sometimes on set, I would ask the spot boy for water, and he’d completely ignore me. Then you’d have to get it yourself. A lot of productions here segregate the cast and crew during meal times. Junior artists eat separately, the supporting artists have their own space, and the main leads are also separated.”
In the interview, Siddiqui said that he was roughed up on set, for wanting to eat with the top-billed actors. Since he was fuelled by ego at that time, he couldn’t take the disrespect.
“On some productions, and I have to credit Yash Raj Films for also doing this, everybody eats together. But a lot of production houses make divisions. I would often try to eat where the main leads were eating, but I’d be dragged out by the collar. I was ego-driven, and I would get angry; I thought actors should be given more respect. And sometimes they’d let me through”, the actor said.
Siddiqui also recalled that he still remains unpaid for the work that he did on several films back in the day. He said that he never got paid for working on the Fardeen Khan and Suniel Shetty-starrer film Jungle which was directed by Ram Gopal Varma. So, he’d go to the production house and eat heavy meals for two or three months.
He had also earlier made a similar statement about not getting paid for his work on the film Shool. “That evened things out,” he said with a laugh. The actor was last seen in the romantic comedy Jogira Sara Ra Ra.
