Nawazuddin Siddiqui is one of the most seasoned actors in Bollywood. He was born in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh and worked as a chemist before making his transition into films. He is known for his portrayal of characters from unrefined backgrounds and brings a certain rawness to his acting which makes him stand out from all other actors in Bollywood.

From his debut in Sarfarosh in 1999, to his minor role in Munna Bhai MBBS he has had a lengthy struggle. Siddiqui is now extremely famous among the adults and the youth for his cult classic Gangs of Wasseypur film franchise and his portrayal of the Sacred Games’s antagonist, Gaitonde.

He received a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in critically acclaimed movie The Lunchbox and has also been a part of the cast of McMafia, which is an Emmy winning Best Drama Series. He was nominated for Best Actor (critic) in 2019 Filmfare Awards for his role Indian Biographical drama film Manto.

With his portrayal of Faizal Khan in Gangs of Wasseypur, we see Siddiqui easily slip into the different nuances of the character’s mood. One moment you will be laughing at his comic timing and the strangeness of his character and suddenly when you see the look of psychotic glee glaze over his eyes, you fear him.

He also practices method acting and scrutinises the personality of real people around him to adapt to the characters he is playing. For Faizal Khan, he channeled the unique personality of the zamindars of his village, their arrogance and even their body language.

For his role as Aslam Sheikh in The Lunchbox, he plays an innocent downtrodden man. He again based the portrayal of this character on a real life person. This person was his friend. Siddiqui believed that his friend had experienced similar circumstances like Aslam Sheikh. You can sense the grief of the character not just by his words, but also through the certain hopeless way in which Siddiqui delivers the dialogues.

In Manto, we see Nawazuddin Siddiqui speak and carry himself with extreme conviction. It paints a clear picture of a man who is not afraid to defend his beliefs and is not easily swayed in the face of conflict.

Sacred Games is a critically acclaimed web-series in which Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role of the antagonist, Ganesh Gaitonde. Gaitonde is the perfect blend of chaos, bloodthirst and vengeance. He grows to be a powerful figure with a troublesome past. Siddiqui manages to make one of the most morally gray characters a fan favourite with realistic acting and rugged haughtiness. 

In Manjhi - The Mountain Man, we see Siddiqui transform effortlessly from a romantic youngster to a heart-broken husband who takes up the task of breaking a mountain in the memory of his wife. It is difficult to believe Siddiqui is just an actor and not the real person who actually experienced these situations. Thus proving that he does justice to every biopic he has ever acted in.

It is quite evident that Nawazuddin Siddiqui chooses his roles with perfect precision. He knows which characters have depth and carefully plans how he is going to modify his whole being to bring the character to life while preserving its original essence.