Nawazuddin Siddiqui Unfiltered Journey, Auditions & Iconic Roles

What does it really take to survive in cinema when you don’t have godfathers, glamour, or shortcuts?

In a recent podcast, Nawazuddin Siddiqui opens up like never before — from spotting his name in fast-scrolling credits to shaping legendary characters with pure honesty and practice.

His journey isn’t just inspiring, it’s a reality check for every aspiring actor who believes talent alone is enough.

Below are the questions he was asked and the candid answers that followed.

1. What was it like seeing your name on the big screen in the credits of Sarfrosh for the first time?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui answered: Actually, that role was given to my friend. He was my batchmate from my National School Of Drama. At that moment, he disappeared and then they came to ask me where he was? And I honestly had no idea where he had gone. Then, they asked me if I could do the role, so I said yes I can. So, they said I would have to audition and I agreed to this. 

I auditioned at John Mathew Matthan’s house and then I got the role. Although, it wasn’t a major role, almost 40 seconds. And when I saw it on screen by the time I spotted my name, it had already passed away. The credits were scrolling really fast. After a long time when the DVDs came out, I paused it and checked and yes it was my name. After so many years that moment really made me so happy.

2. Can you tell us about your first Audition?

Pathik Vats was taking my audition, he was casting and was also the associate director. John Mathew was also there in front of whom I gave the audition. Of course, I prepared for it, they had given me the script.

Emotions were important because when you watch that role in the film, you can see a man who is frightened and tense who hasn’t done anything wrong but he is very afraid of the police, so that was important. But during the audition I was already scared so that fear matched the character’s fear and that’s how I got selected, the actor said.

3. What are some things that no acting school can prepare you for?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui said, You cannot teach what your own experience teaches you. If you keep your eyes, ears and mind open, you get to learn many things. Acting cannot be taught, sure some technicalities can definitely be explained if it was teachable, it would have been like a pill, you swallow it and suddenly become an actor. But it never works that way.

Back then, there was no internet and mobile so we used to practice a lot. A person like me who was not naturally smart or extraordinary but what I achieved came only through constant practice. 

Because when I was at the National School Of Drama, I knew my weaknesses, so I used to lock the Yoga hall and worked for 18 hours for a role which I had gotten and watched myself change in the process.

After 5-6 days the character slowly took shape, I could literally see the transformation happening. So since then I have believed that with practice a lot of things can be changed. If someone like me can gain confidence then people who are confident already can do so much more.

4. After NSD (National School Of Drama) Did your first TV/Film audition feel different from what you had learned in training?

The actor said, Of course, it helps you in your work, in one way or another. If you are taking this seriously, definitely you should go to workshops and take training, it's very important. It's not like before when someone saw you had a good personality and you could just get films, that’s how it used to be earlier. 

But today’s modern and aspiring actors come fully trained, they do workshops, they are very serious because of course, it is a different kind of an art. To become an expert at it, you should learn as much as you can and take it as seriously as possible I think.

5. Inside Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s iconic roles?

Faisal Khan in Gangs Of Wasseypur: Siddiqui stating that it happened completely out of the box, he wasn’t expecting to get a role like this. He said, I was in my village when I got a call from Anurag Kashyap. Kashyap said that I’m sending some pages, have a look at the character of Faisal Khan, so I read it. Honestly, I really liked it because it had an attitude. There were not many dialogues but the few that were there felt very good. I wanted to do it and that’s how I got the role of Faisal Khan.

As far as preparation was concerned, I made a very big blunder on Day 1. The mistake that I adapted to the Al Pacino style of acting and my behavior was such that I felt like I was Al Pacino himself. It looked like acting. After the shoot, Anurag Kashyap asked me - why are you trying to show it? People who are truly powerful don’t show it. And I’ll place 6 foot tall people standing behind you. You don’t need to show yourself a powerful guy. Even if you speak normally, you will come across as strong. I understood that it actually makes sense.

Next day, I went to the set with that in mind and I started reacting just the way I was naturally. When I looked at it, it felt like yes everyone was following his orders. So, it automatically started looking powerful. I tried to stay as honest as possible with myself throughout the film, that was my approach.

Shaikh In The Lunchbox: Nawazuddin revealed that he was the first one they cast when Ritest Batra had come from New York. After that, Guneet Monga Kapoor told him that he’ll be playing Shaikh’s role and he agreed to this.

Further he stated that, For preparation I was thinking of the way that character was described, I remembered a friend of mine who was quite similar to that character. He used to be my roommate, so I thought why not just copy him. When the film was released, my friend sent me a message ‘I saw Lunchbox, Thank You’ that’s it.

Ganesh Gaitonde In Sacred Games: Siddiqui replied, ‘Frankly speaking, I didn’t want to do Ganesh Gaitonde because I had already done a gangster as Faisal Khan’. They tried to convince me for 3 months. Finally, Vikramaditya and Anurag Kashyap convinced me to do that role by saying that we will do it completely differently.

I didn’t know what Netflix, or OTT / series. After a day I said yes, the entire Netflix team showed up. Once I began working on it I realised that it’s actually a really complex driven character and it will require effort. In that series, I was completely dependent on the director (Anurag Kashyap). I was confident that whatever they made me do, I’d do it with full understanding. After 5-6 days, I started understanding the character 

Jatal Yadav In Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders:

Jatal Yadav is just an ordinary cop but what he does have is honesty and a certain discipline. The biggest challenge was that in long scenes, the rhythm of the dialogues had to be maintained.

6. Tell us about your Collaboration with Anurag Kashyap and how that was built?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui says that he met with Anurag at Andheri Station. There was an actor who wanted to leave, Anurag said to him ‘alright stay back let see what we can do’. That’s where we met for the first time, he said.

The second time we met was on the sets of ‘Shool’. It was being filmed and everyone around me had already been cast, I was the only one left. So, I went to the director and asked if there was any small role he could give me. He gave me a role but it was just a small waiter’s role. Anurag Kashyap advised me not to do it. I said, I’ll do it at least I’ll get paid - the actor stated. I did that role but later I didn’t even get paid for it.

7. What is Anurag Kashyap like to work with and how has he shaped you?

After that, I would usually go to the Prithvi theatre. There was something unique about Anurag Kashyap. He started talking to me even though he hadn’t seen much of my work but he kept saying amongst all the actors that he’d give me a solid role someday. After quite some time, I was called in for the song I did in Dev D, that’s how it started and then Black Friday happened. Slowly the association kept growing, we kept meeting and over time it turned into a really good friendship.

8. How can actors make an impact with limited screen time?

In a smaller part, if it’s interesting, you feel that something can be added to it behavior wise, whatever the role is. If you are speaking only as many dialogues as are written, you should definitely add some different elements to it so that it becomes striking. Because of a crowd of lakhs of actors, how do you stop someone and draw their attention toward yourself? That’s something remarkable I think and that can be done even in small roles.

9. What advice would you give struggling actors on handling rejection?

When tough times arrive, you shouldn’t get too sad and also when high times arrive, you shouldn’t get overly happy. You should balance yourself as much as possible. Opportunities keep coming but you should always watch good films because good actors teach you a lot, Nawazuddin said.

10. One piece of advice for young actors?

Siddiqui added, I think that that camera is an opportunity. Acting is like a nude art, whatever is going on in your mind becomes visible. You don’t need to show it. That’s how the camera captures you.

11. One actionable tip for aspiring actors to hone their craft?

There are certain exercises actors know about, you should read and watch good films. If you keep watching silly films, it has an effect too because the mind works in such a way that whatever strange things you fill it with will eventually show, if you put good things into it, that will show too. I think, when actors watch good films, you can sense it in their conversations and in how they work, Siddiqui mentioned.

12. What are your top 5 10/10 films that everyone should watch?

Nawazuddin Siddiqui mentioned Bandit Queen, Court, All We Imagine As Light, Sparsh and Ek Doctor Ki Maut.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s journey proves that patience, practice, and staying true to yourself can turn even the smallest opportunities into unforgettable milestones. His words are a masterclass for anyone chasing cinema seriously.

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