Last week when Nawazuddin raised a question through a tweet, he wrote, “Thank U 4 making me realize that I cannot b paired along wid d fair & handsome bcoz I m dark & not good looking, but I never focus on that.”
Thank U 4 making me realise dat I cannot b paired along wid d fair & handsome bcz I m dark & not good looking, but I never focus on that.
— Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@Nawazuddin_S) July 17, 2017
A lot has been said and written about his words. Finally, he clarified during a recent interview, he said, “I was reacting to what I read about this gentleman’s statement on the kind of actors I need to be cast with. I found the statement very strange. Did filmmakers actually consider the colour of my co-stars’ skin before casting them with me? Yeh ladki gori hai yeh nahin chalegi…yeh ladka saawla hai isskobanao Nawaz ka dost… Is that how actors are cast in our films? I thought actors were chosen for suitability and merit….Anyway, this gentleman says he was misquoted.” He added, “But the fact is, I have faced prejudices all my life because of my dark complexion, because of my humble background and because I come from a small village. Prejudice is embedded deep in our minds. All of us are prejudiced. It begins at home where the mother says, ‘Beta gori bahu le aao tab bachche kale nahin honge.’ As if my criteria for choosing a life partner must be the colour of her skin.”
He does not want to point out at any particular section of society, “I am not saying there is more prejudice in the film industry. It exists in every profession, every walk of life. In cinema. I don’t think I’ve been rejected for being dark-skinned. Nor has any heroine refused to work with me for the way I look. But yes, you can’t deny that leading men are supposed to look a particular way. Hero ka matlab hota hai gora-chitta.” He added, “There is a lot of curiosity to see the children from film families. And invariably the question of how fair-skinned he or she is, comes up. Someone like me with no connection in the industry has to prove myself. Because I’ve no background in cinema and I don’t look like a film actor. Yeh kya karega? That’s how I was initially welcomed.”
Talking about his co-star Tiger Shroff, Nawazuddin said, “Look at Tiger Shroff. See how hard he works. I got a chance to watch him dance in ‘Munna Michael’. Believe me, he is miraculous. Though he is the son of a star like Jackie Shroff he never tried to use that as a calling card in the industry. In fact I think he worked towards being a fantastic dance as that was one area where his father was not skilled.”
Meanwhile, Nawaz will be dancing in his movie “Munna Michael“, along with Tiger Shroff, which has been released today. On this Nawazuddin says, “I am very nervous. I want to know what people think about my dancing. Because I’ve always had a mental block about dancing. Dancing on screen was a challenge for me as an actor. I hope I’ve pulled it off.”