Nawazuddin Siddiqui makes supporting characters count through body language and restraint. We rate him particularly in an ensemble, where he can establish a presence without adding to the noise.
Fi1m perspective
In Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012), Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Faizal Khan is one of several people competing for our attention. We laughed at Manoj Bajpayee's Sardar Khan because his swagger is funny without making him harmless. Richa Chadha's Nagma gives the family exchanges enough weight to stand beside the criminal business. Siddiqui adds to this company, and Anurag Kashyap's film is a useful introduction to an actor we value for his ability to work within an ensemble.
His breakthrough in the Gangs of Wasseypur duology (2012) followed years of minor roles, often comic or villainous. The work afterwards did not follow a simple promotion from supporting actor to lead. He played Shaikh in The Lunchbox (2013) and later took the role of the writer Saadat Hasan Manto in Manto (2018). Those smaller assignments deserve attention alongside the leads, particularly for an actor whose naturalistic style depends on observation and body language rather than making every effort visible.
For a first encounter with Siddiqui, Lion (2016) would not be our choice. His Rama belongs to a film in which Sunny Pawar's lost child provides the most immediate pull, and Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman carry the adult family drama. Garth Davis makes the child's fear painfully clear, although the later passages repeat themselves. It is worth an evening with that reservation; it offers less of a starting point for Siddiqui than Kashyap's feuding families.
His preference for body language and minimal display is useful in a film as busy as Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1: another insistent performance would hardly help us follow the families. There are limits to what it can solve, and Kashyap's pace still leaves some characters less firmly established. We value Siddiqui here as a member of the ensemble, rather than claiming the whole film for him. Start there, then try The Lunchbox before deciding he belongs only among gangsters.
Biography
Nawazuddin Siddiqui is an Indian actor who works primarily in Hindi cinema. Born on 19 May 1974 in Budhana, Uttar Pradesh, he studied chemistry at Gurukul Kangri University and trained at the National School of Drama in New Delhi.
He made his film debut in Sarfarosh (1999) and first gained widespread attention for his role as Faizal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012). Siddiqui has since appeared in films including The Lunchbox (2013), Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), Raees (2017) and Lion (2016), and in the series Sacred Games (2018). He received a Special Jury Award at the 2012 National Film Awards.
