Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been around in the industry for long enough to have a take on what’s the one thing he wants to change about Bollywood. And considering the recognition he enjoys in India as well as abroad, what he says is indeed a fair point. “I want to change the name ‘Bollywood’ itself. Yeh jo udhaar ka naam le rakha hai, sabse pehle humein yeh badalna chahiye,” the actor quips.

Hollywood clearly was the inspiration behind the name for Hindi film industry. What’s also peculiar, and Siddiqui agrees, is that there have been instances where a film or actor was recognised only when appreciated in the West.

He says, “This is a fact. A lot of my films go to international festivals, and even get awards, but when they release here, they wouldn’t get that good a response.” Giving the example of his recent web film Serious Men directed by Sudhir Mishra, which received praise from critics and viewers alike, he continues, “Thank God, we got such a great response, and it connected with people. But if it wouldn’t have, we’d have had doubts ki yeh kya ho gaya. Then when it’d have got some award in the West, it’d have been termed good here, too. Yeh cheez toh hai... The validation is needed (by Indian audience), especially from the West; it hasn’t changed.”

Siddiqui, 46, has starred in the international show McMafia, and his 2013 film The Lunchbox, too, became popular abroad. When asked about offers from Hollywood, he reveals, “Offers do come, but it is just not materialising. Aisa nahin hai ki [main] mara jaa raha hoon, ya thappa lagega unka tab jaake actor kehlaunga. I am not dependent on that, neither do I want to be. I want my films to go to the West and tell them that we’re no less.”

Does he feel that filmmakers here have tapped his full potential? He replies with a big yes: “I have no complaints, not with the industry or any person. Talent ki kadr bilkul hoti hai. If not today, then tomorrow.”