Act you like it

NAWAZUDDIN SIDDIQUI HAS THE CHAMELEON-LIKE KNACK OF TURNING INTO HIS CHARACTER WITH EVERY OUTING. JITESH PILLAAI SOUNDS HIM OUT ON THE METHOD BEHIND HIS TRUE-TO-LIFE PERFORMANCES

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How do you still or ease that which makes you uncomfortable? How does someone show you their wounds without flinching? How can they tell you an entire story in just the preamble? How do they reveal their soul with just a twitch? Good actors show you their scars; great actors reveal their entire being. They lay bare their lacerations and their mental and physical agony. What's the word I'm looking for? Visceral? Nawazuddin Siddiqui is that visceral actor. He shows you both what's on the outside and what lies within. In Manto, his words scorch you; he is irascible, yet he reveals deep moments of vulnerability and brokenness. It's this very brokenness that makes you identify with him because every single one of us is broken in immeasurable ways, and we are all trying to piece ourselves back together. He holds up a mirror for you. It's the same brokenness he portrays in Season I of Sacred Games. It's the same chaotic, manic brokenness he embodies in Raman Raghav 2.0 and Manjhi: The Mountain Man. Even in his diabolical role in Badlapur, you see a man trying to reconstruct himself. And then there's his vulnerability, which shines through in The Lunchbox and Photograph. It's like pages of life unfolding; the wounds have healed, and he wants to start all over again. How can an actor convey vulnerability, meanness, lunacy and manic anger all in one stance? What is that volcano that bubbles within? How does he do it? He offers no false hopes or assurances. He doesn't promise redemption; he simply urges you to lick your scars. He's going to dive deep into yet another role and offer you brilliance but no salvation once again. I recently met with Nawazuddin for a marathon Q&A. Excerpts:

At 50, you've been in acting for 25 years. Can you recall a pivotal film that made you feel you'd truly made it as an actor?

For me, Kahaani was definitely one. In