As Nawazuddin Siddiqui turns 47 today, let’s revisit his top 5 performances from Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur to the Netflix’s blockbuster Sacred Games. With an unassuming face and expressive eyes, Siddiqui with his efforts has put himself on the list of the best actors in the country. In an industry filled with actors with chiseled bodies & aesthetically appealing faces, Siddiqui’s achievements are remarkable.
On his birthday, here’s us revisiting his best performances so far-
1) Gangs of Wasseypur 1-2
Anurag Kashyap’s opus is a revenge-drama of two generations battling it out in the rustic milieu of Bihar’s coal-rich region, Dhanbad. The revenge drama has it all, the rise and fall of Ramadhir Singh, a political leader, the fall and rise of his rival Faizal Khan’s family & their feud that spilled across generations.
Without getting into the spoiler territory, the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui playing Faizal Khan who goes to lengths to avenge the assassination of his father Sardar Khan played by Manoj Bajpayee. For the major part of the film, Siddiqui’s Faizal is shown not turning his eye to revenge, but to make himself the most powerful man in Dhanbad by slowly and steadily conquering the illegal businesses of his rivals. The film portrays the journey of a sly and cold Faizal who takes some minor opposing forces down by hook and crook and in consequences, makes a name that would send a shiver down the enemies’ backs.
Slowly and surely Siddiqui’s Faizal Khan makes his way to Ramadhir Singh, the man who was responsible for some evil deeds against Khan’s family. What transpires next, is a gory, raw and intriguing look at shifting alliances, hunger for revenge and a surprising yet appropriate ending.
Catch Gangs of Wasseypur 1-2 on Netflix
2) Raman Raghav 2.0
Directed by Anurag Kashyap, the film is an alternative retelling of a real case of Raman Raghav, a serial killer from Mumbai who single handedly created terror among the poor and homeless. The way the story is retold is how Kashyap makes sure you can’t root for the police officer in charge of investigation as he’s portrayed by Vicky Kaushal to be an impulsive, drugs consuming, trigger-friendly nutjob.
Kashyap’s version of a Mumbai in 1960 is realistic with a tinge of fiction. Add to this spine-chilling performance by Siddiqui and you have a movie watching experience impossible to shake off. The film is divided into 8 chapters of a thrilling chase between Siddiqui’s Ramanna and Kaushal’s Raghavan. The film reaches a new height when a scene has Siddiqui’s Rammana give a 10-minute monologue. According to reports, Siddique spoke for about 300 minutes without many breaks sitting in the same position. Due to this, he could not talk for some time.
Catch Raman Raghav 2.0 on Netflix
3) Badlapur
Directed by Sriram Raghavan, Badlapur is another revenge drama in this list. Only this time, Siddiqui’s character is on the receiving end of the revenge. Before the movie’s release political pundits were expecting Siddiqui to overshadow the protagonist of the film Varun Dhawan. Dhawan however gave his career-best performance and gave Siddiqui’s performance a tough fight. But as its always told, it’s not easy to outperform a giant like Siddiqui. Siddiqui’s ‘Liak’ was a character with multitudes of layers, a man tormented by the guilt of the crimes he committed. While viewers may feel compassionate towards Varun Dhawan’s character as he suffered a major loss during an inciting incident, but Siddiqui’s performance made sure that the viewers have empathy till the bitter end, even for a ‘bad guy’.
Catch Badlapur on Amazon Prime Video
4) The Lunchbox
Although one would say that Lunch Box is all about the warm and intriguing relationship between the characters of two amazing performers: late actor Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur, they would find it difficult to argue that Siddiqui’s character was important to the film. Siddiqui in the film plays Shaikh, a gullible, naïve yet jovial trainee who’s come to Irrfan Khan during the dawn of his career to seek training from him. Over the course of the film, Irrfan Khan’s Saajan and Shaikh form a rapport unlike most. The film showed filmmakers & Indian audiences that Siddiqui is not only capable of playing serious characters, but also characters with shades of comedy in them.
Catch The Lunchbox on Netflix
