Inside The Mind Of Nawazuddin Siddiqui

His story personifies the rags-toriches cliché, but there’s more to this powerhouse actor than his past. With Season Two of the cult Netflix series all set to premiere this month, THE MAN delves into the darkness with this mystical creator of characters

- Sonali Velinker Kamat

Exiting A mammoth Mercedes SUV is a diminutive man. I’ve seen him in a ganji as Ganesh Gaitonde and in Gucci, playing himself — the star of Sacred Games — for a label-led magazine photoshoot. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is neither person. The sexual ambivalence and violence that is second nature to gangster Gaitonde makes Nawaz uncomfortable. Haute couture and high fashion are equally alien to him.

Over the course of a day spent in his company, it becomes apparent that Nawazuddin Siddiqui is an anomaly. In a world of cookie-cutter characters, this bloke from Budhana has broken every mould available. He is being hailed as a ‘true actor’ in an industry populated by ‘heroes,’ and he seems quietly pleased by the distinction. As he should be.

Nawazuddin does not fit in and he’s not trying to fit in either — not anymore at least. If he’s driving “the world’s biggest car” or wearing its best-known brands, he insists it is his brother’s doing. He’s just here for the work. Fame and money — the by-products of his profession — don’t really concern him.

We’re surrounded by the bustle of a fashion shoot that’s winding down and a restaurant — Worli’s plush Slink & Bardot — that is prepping for service. Assistants, stylists and crew members of all manner are busy making sure that Nawazuddin has everything he needs. His focus, however, is centred on sharing his story with us. I ask pointed questions and he responds without hesitation. Despite my barely passable Hindi and his barely passable English, we communicate with ease. Or with heart, perhaps. His larger-than-life portrayals of characters as diverse as Gaitonde and Faizal Khan (from 2012’s