Good looks can make you a hero, not an actor

MUMBAI: Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui believes he looks dull, but has still managed to carve a niche in the Hindi film industry. He says good looks may guarantee a hero’s spot, but not acting skills.

“People say ‘Oh, he is so good looking, go to Mumbai and you will become a hero’. Of course, he can become a hero! But it is very tough to become an actor,” the 39-year-old said on Wednesday at a film club function at the University of Mumbai.

Many may believe that good looks and the inborn talent to act make an impressive actor, but Nawazuddin, who has received critical acclaim for his work, says good training and practice can make actors out of the ordinary.

“Many people say that you are born an actor, but according to me, actors can be made. If a dull man like me can become an actor, then definitely the training and practice I underwent is responsible for it.”

“Dancers and musicians need to practice, and similarly actors also need to practice,” he added.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has shared screen space with big names like Aamir Khan and Irrfan Khan, but he says he has never been intimidated by their star power. Had he been awestruck, he says he would not have been honest with his characters.

“If you feel the pressure of any star, that means you are not doing justice with your character or you are not involved in your character. If you are getting conscious of the stardom of a star, then he is right in his place, but you are not,” the 39-year-old said.

For an actor, it should only be another character in front of him and not a star. “If you are in character, then you will see the other person also as a particular character. Like in Talaash, if I was in my role of Temur, then it was not Aamir Khan standing in front of me, but a police officer,” he said.

Nawazuddin was last seen in the acclaimed The Lunchbox and Miss Lovely and will soon be seen in Mountain Man, Ghoomketu and Kick. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 12^th, 2014.

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