Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is a Hindi film actor whose rise from small parts to lead roles is one of the great late-blooming careers in Indian cinema. He was born in Budhana, in the Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, the eldest of eight siblings, and studied acting at the National School of Drama.

His early roles were minor ones in Sarfarosh and Shool (both 1999) and Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003). Recognition came with Anurag Kashyap's Black Friday (2004) and, above all, the two-part Gangs of Wasseypur (2012). He won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for The Lunchbox (2013). Kick (2014) and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) took him to mainstream audiences, and Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), Raees and Mom (both 2017) and Manto (2018) won critical acclaim.

Streaming brought him international attention too. He starred in two Emmy-nominated series, Sacred Games (2018–2019) and the British McMafia (2018), and was himself nominated for an International Emmy. His awards include a National Film Award, an IIFA Award and two Filmfare Awards. On this guide he appears in Kahaani and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.

Before acting he took a chemistry degree at Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar and worked as a chemist in Vadodara for a year. A play he saw in Delhi changed his mind. He was mostly out of work between 2002 and 2005, though he made the short film The Bypass with Irrfan Khan in 2003.

Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015, Hindi) was released 17 July 2015. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in the cast, under director Kabir Khan. The cast also includes Salman Khan, Harshaali Malhotra and Kareena Kapoor Khan.

Kahaani (2012, Hindi) was released 9 March 2012. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is in the cast, under director Sujoy Ghosh. The cast also includes Vidya Balan and Parambrata Chatterjee.