Nawazuddin Siddiqui was presented the Yash Bharti Award by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav recently. The award, given in honour of his contribution to cinema, holds a special place in the actor's heart.

“Awards are motivating. Since I am from UP, there's an emotional connect with this one. I always dreamt of this, especially since I saw my seniors winning it during my theatre days,“ says Nawaz from Dubai, where he is promoting his upcoming film Badlapur.

“My hard work of 18 years has paid off. I was 25 when I began acting in plays. I came to Mumbai 15 years back. For the first 10 years, I barely got any work. From doing 40-second lead roles, I have come a long way. Things came to me pretty late, but I am happy I'm being appreciated now,“ he adds.

Nawaz feels such awards increase people's expectations of him. “Of late, most of my films have been critically acclaimed and been featured at international film festivals. This makes you more conscious and adds responsibility. I'm an actor; I'm bound to make mistakes, but I'm choosing my films more carefully now,“ he concludes.