NAWAZ SE NAWAB TAK EK KAMAAL KI KAAMYABI KI KAHAANI. .. ... BY ALI EPTER JOHN

A leading filmmaker of the 80s saw the film Bajrangi Bhaijan starring Salman Khan an actor who not many could recognise in the initial stages of the film, but who by the end of the film had established himself as a formidable actor and the filmmaker said, " hamaare zamaane mein toh hum isko gate ke baahar bhi kadhe hone nahi dete, lekin aaj ye chaaya huva hai aur saari duniya isko jaanti hai Nawazuddin Siddiqui ke naam se - Ali Peter John

Aaj kal yehi log toh asli star hai aur baaki sab naam ke star hai, iss ladke ko kaam aata hai aur jo apne aap ko star kehte hai unko kaam kya hota hai maaloom nahi"

That filmmaker was not just talking about Nawazuddin, he was talking about the magic the actor was working on the audience with his fascinating and true to life performance .
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And Nawazuddin has been taking the audience by storm ever since he came to Mumbai from the National School Of Drama, after excelling in more than ten major plays .

Among the films that carry the signature of the talent of Nawazuddin in small and big roles are "Shool" , Patang, Raman Raghav 2. 0 , Gangs Of Waasseypur, The Lunch Box , and who can forget his first ever performance in Sarfarosh which had two giants like Aamir Khan and Nasiruddin Shah , but Nawazuddin still stole the limelight with his brief performance .

That Nawaz is a gem of a talent has been proved by the fact that his films have been screened at the Cannes Film Festival for a record number of six times back to back and at the Berlin Film Festival and many other festivals all over .

Some weeks ago , he was shooting two shifts a day and a channel wanted to interview him and he was finding it difficult to find time , but he wanted to do the interview. He took a local train from Mira Road to Andheri station and then asked for a lift from a biker and reached the studio .

And the kamaal of the incident was that not a single person recognised him . And such incidents keep happening in his life even after he has become a star among stars and a star in a class of his own and who works on his own terms .

When Nawaz first came to Mumbai , he had no place to stay. After living in several slums in shanties , he found a comfortable room which was offered to him by a colleague on the condition that he cooked breakfast , lunch and dinner for him .

It was while going through such rough patches that he grew into a better actor and even turned out to a master actor when he was chosen to play the most difficult autobiographical roles of Sadat Hasan Manto, the controversial Urdu writer and " Thackeray " , the life story of the most fiery and controversial leader of Maharashtra , Bal Thackeray .

And all the while he was working and working , he was building his dream somewhere near the sea in Versova. He literally built it brick by brick and when it was ready , it was like a dream palace which could be compared to the White House and to some of the most beautiful palaces in in India. It did not take him a long time to give his dream house a name . He called it "Nawab " which was the name of his father who had inspired him to take huge steps without worrying about the consequences .

Today, Nawaz has everything that a young farmer from Budhaana in Uttar Pradesh could even dream of . He is a true star in every meaning.

But , whenever he finds time, the only plan he makes is to go back to his farm in Budhaana and plough the fields of his forefathers and take care of the village and it's people who he had left a long time ago in quest of his destination which was Mumbai and then perhaps the whole country and the world , which I think is not a very dificult destination for a man who has so much of dedication , determination and passion in him .

For those who are still interested in knowing what Nawazuddin is upto , he is eagerly waiting for the release of Ahmed Khan's "Heropanti 2 " in which he plays the antagonist with Tiger Shroff, for whom he is all praise and his praise means more awards for Tiger than all the awards he could win in his entire career. Nawazuddin will also be seen in an adbhoot role in a a film called " Adbhoot" .

And what I am most interested to see is this mind blowing actor being directed by Kangana Ranaut who blows of the minds of people , but who is directing Nawazuddin in her own film , "Tiku Weds Sheru " can you believe Nawazuddin Siddiqui being directed by Kangana Ranaut ? No , I am sorry , I can't even after fifty two years of following some of the best and some of the worst actresses

JAB NAWAZUDDIN MUMBAI AAYE THE TAB UNKE PAAS SIRF UNKE KHWAAB THE AUR UNKA HUNNAR THA . AAJ UNKE PAAS AUR BHI BAHUT KUCH HAI AAGE AAGE DEKHIYE YE JAADUGAR KYA KYA KARTA HAI