Nawazuddin urges Bollywood to prioritize substance over star power
Nawazuddin Siddiqui advocates for a change in Bollywood, emphasizing meaningful roles over star status and genuine dialogue over dramatic lines.
Actress Rasika Dugal, who would soon grace the silver screen alongside Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Manto, apparently betrayed her co-star. According to Siddiqui, he wasn’t paid for his forthcoming film but Rasika was and now he feels betrayed.
In an interview to IANS, the Qissa actress was asked if she also worked for free. “I got paid for it and Nawazuddin still holds it against me because apparently he got only Re 1 which Nandita (Das) has not paid him yet, according to him. In fact, very recently he found out that I was paid,” Rasika answered.
“Tahir (Tahir Raj Bhasin) and I were the highest paid actors. Nawaz looked at me with utter disbelief. He was like ‘You betrayed me’. I said ‘I am sorry. Don’t hold it against me’. Nawaz was stunned,” she said followed by laughter.
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Also read: Manto’s grandson accuses Indian publication of faking comments; demands removal of ‘false news’
Celebrities like Rishi Kapoor, Gurdas Maan, and Javed Akhtar didn’t charge a penny for Manto.
Talking about how senior actors rarely reciprocate the respect they get from juniors, Rasika said, “With Nawaz, that was not the case. He is a good enough actor to know that all co-actors are to be respected and I think he responded to me with a lot of warmth and respect which gave me a lot of confidence. There was an unspoken and silent understanding of each other’s way of working.”
Manto has Rasika Duggal as Manto’s wife, and Rishi Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Ila Arun and Rajshri Deshpande in pivotal roles, with Javed Akhtar making his screen debut. The film is slated to be released on September 21.
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