The first thing that strikes us on entering Nawazuddin Siddiqui's office is an old cupboard full of books - English, Hindi, translations... And then we notice the small, framed pictures of famous film personalities - Marlon Brando, Guru Dutt... It's a minimalistically done-up place with no frills - almost a reflection of the man we are about to interview. The next hour-and-a-half wheezes by, as we unmask the actor. Excerpts...

You have a big release coming up, Rahul Dholakia's Raees...
I have known Rahul since his Parzania days. We had first discussed Raees around four years ago, but back then, he wanted to make it on a small scale. One thing led to another and he approached Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani's Excel Entertainment. They liked the script and agreed to come on board as co-producers. And then, Shah Rukh coming on board changed the track of the film.

You have often said that you don't want to do typical naach-gaana films. But Raees has all the makings of a potboiler...
I might have said that long ago. Maybe I did not have much knowledge of acting then. Aadmi toh grow karta hi hai. Abhi toh main khud dance kar raha hoon, with Tiger Shroff in an upcoming film. I've realised that an actor's job is to complete the task assigned to him by the director. So, if I am given the task of dancing, I will do it. And Raees' structure is such - dance, drama, songs - our films are like operas. That said, I maintain I'm not comfortable dancing.

Satisfying the director is fine, but what about your own satisfaction as an actor?
My satisfaction doesn't matter all that much when it comes to my job. That's because an actor thinks only about his character, whereas the director thinks about the entire film. He has a vision, which the actor is a part of.

But there will be instances of filmmakers failing to exploit your talent. How do you deal with that?
If I start satisfying myself in every film, irrespective of the director's demands, I will gradually slip into a comfort zone. And then, all my performances will be the same. If you listen to the director, your performance will be unique in each case, because he will exploit you according to the need of the subject.

There's a line in Raees, which has become very popular: Dhandha dhandha hota hai, dhandhe se bada koi dharm nahin hota. Do you agree that at the end of the day, every job is like a business?
No. Actually, I don't believe in that saying. It might hold true for businessmen, but as an actor, acting is not just my job or my dhandha, it is my passion. At one point of time, I made some poor choices because I had to survive. Zinda rahoonga tab hi toh achcha kaam karoonga na?

Having worked with the top three Khans - Shah Rukh, Aamir and Salman, what has been your experience with each?
Shah Rukh Khan is a very hardworking actor. His process in front of the camera is that of an actor, not a star. It's up to the director to exploit what Shah Rukh bhai has to offer. When I'd do a scene with him, I'd hope for it to go on and on. And it was not about the text, the dialogues. We just wanted to keep working on the subtext of the scene. Salman bhai's style is that of a star; he doesn't really try to get too deep into a scene. If it's an okay take, it's done. He won't do it twice. Aamir, on the other hand, is a perfectionist. He will insist on each and every thing being just right.

You used to take joy in the fact that people would not recognize you on the streets. How are you handling fame now?
I have this quality that I can lose myself in a crowd. If you go around with an entourage - security, make-up guys, assistants, PRs - naturally the public will be curious to know who this person is, jiske peechhe 10 aadmi chal rahe hain. A person's real quality is when you are known to the entire world, but can still become a regular face in the crowd.

Do you try to keep it real in front of the camera as well?
Osho had once said, 'Act as if it is real life and live as if it is acting'. I try to follow that. Sometimes, I feel that I act more in my real life and when I am facing the camera, the real me gets projected. There are so many people in this world who want to talk about themselves; Ki yaar, main aisa hoon... Koi sune toh! Par koi sunne wala nahin hota. An actor is blessed with that opportunity to show his real self to the world. So, when you are facing the camera, there are these moments that demand all your honesty; you are supposed to put everything you have got into that moment.

There are a lot of star kids entering the industry. Do you want your daughter to become an actor, too?
We don't even have a television at home, they are not at all exposed to Bollywood or films. So, it's very unlikely that my daughter will become an actress. Of course, if she wants, she can join the industry, but she will have to do it on her own. She will have to prove her worth in whatever field she chooses as her career. There's an attitude that baap star hai, toh beti toh ban hi jaayegi...it's so easy! (sniggers). I don't want her to have things so easy. In fact, personally, I don't want her to join this industry.

We guess, what you are saying is that you want every newcomer to be deserving; not just because of their background...
I really think that (star) kids should not have it so easy, they should work for it. But in India, it has always been like that. From the Mughal era - ek ke baad ek raaj karte chale gaye 700 saal tak. And people kept accepting them as the badshahs, nobody cared whether they were worthy of the crown or not. It's the same in our politics too, and the same in Bollywood. I will not go into the debate of whether this trend is right or wrong. I will just say that I don't believe in it.

Is Hollywood also on your agenda?
You think Hollywood's easy? You think Priyanka Chopra just went there one day and landed a role? No, she had her PR working on her brand there for a decade! I will not go to Hollywood just for the sake of having my name roll in the credits. If I do go to Hollywood some day, wahan ke stars ki toh band baja doonga!