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Nawazuddin Siddiqui: 'I’ve the confidence to do artistic films without any fear'

After delivering a slew of critically acclaimed performances and winning big at film festivals over the years, actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui added yet another feather to his cap last month when he was honoured with the Excellence in Cinema award at the French Riviera Film Festival, 2022. And seems like there’s no stopping him as the upcoming months will see him having a chock-o-block schedule along with many releases lined up. Later in the year, he will be jetting off to New York to shoot for an American project titled Laxman Lopez.

In a chat with us, Siddiqui speaks about the importance and relevance of film festivals in a world where box office is considered to be the end game, representing India on a global scale, treading foreign waters and more.

Excerpts from the interview:

You recently won the Excellence in Cinema award at the French Riviera Film Festival. What does this global recognition mean to you?

It feels great to be winning an award as it means that your work is being recognised worldwide. When your work reaches out to so many people, you get the confidence and motivation that the choices that you’re making in terms of your career are right.

Your films have travelled to a lot of international film festivals. What kind of push do you think it gives to smaller gems that aren’t otherwise released in India on a large scale?

I will feel happier if I can be a part of more and more films that travel to film festivals across the globe and are globally watched and appreciated. So many audiences attend film festivals because they want to watch good cinema. Sometimes, these movies don’t work commercially but I tell myself to not worry. We shouldn’t be thinking about the commercial outcome of a film that’s made on a decent budget. Their budgets can be recovered once they release on various platforms. That’s why I have the confidence to do these films without any fear. I’m doing a few of such films now. It’s actually the high-budget films that fail.

Speaking of festivals, how was your experience at Cannes this time?

It was very good. This time around, I didn’t go there to represent any of my films but I was a part of the Indian delegation. I had some work there, including a few narrations. I celebrated my birthday there as well. This was the seventh time I celebrated my birthday at Cannes. I met many actors at the French Riviera. I met the director (Salim Sadiq) of the Pakistani film Joyland (2022) which won an award at the film festival.

Would you say you’ve now begun to represent Indian cinema globally?

I’m trying my all. I’ve always been drawn towards films with an artistic touch. There are some films which turn out to be a hit at the box office and earn a lot of money, which is great. But artistic films have the potential to be watched and appreciated by the global audience. I’ve realised that people will watch a good film, irrespective of the country it is made in. The Lunchbox (2013), Miss Lovely (2012) and Sacred Games (2018-19) were widely watched by people all over the world. Just like we watch foreign films, they watch our films too as long as there is an artistic touch to them.

With the influx of various platforms that have gained prominence, do you think Indian content is at par with world content?

We still have a long way to go. India makes the most number of films. But their presence is zero per cent, internationally. This year, we didn’t have any other film apart from Shounak Sen’s documentary All That Breathes (2022) competing at Cannes. Nobody even came to know about it. But it is an amazing documentary that was appreciated at the festival. It even won an award. At home, we might be happy when our films enter the Rs 300-400 crore club. But woh India, India nahi hai, baahaar uski puch nahi hai.

We don’t pay any heed to good films that travel to film festivals. We only feel happy and satisfied with the money spinners. I’m not saying that these are bad films. I’ve also done a few of them, but they’ve a limited global reach.

Coming to Laxman Lopez, when do you start shooting for it?

We'll start shooting in November this year in New York. It’s a Christmas film. We’ll be shooting in real locations.

You had once said that Hollywood shouldn’t be a benchmark of success for actors…

Yes! But if you receive a script which satisfies you as an actor, you should definitely do it, and it applies to films across the board. But doing a Hollywood film, where you’ve a small part, just for the sake of it feels weird to me. Our aim shouldn’t be to have the ‘Hollywood’ stamp on our resumes. I’m doing Laxman Lopez because I feel it’s going to be worth it.

Titas Chowdhury is a journalist based in Mumbai with a keen interest in films and beaches.

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by Titas Chowdhury
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