Nawazuddin Siddiqui minces no words when asked about the ongoing Hindi vs south cinema debate. For starters, the actor shares that he never watches a south language film dubbed in Hindi, as he likes to watch the original version: “I can’t watch a dubbed version, because then I can’t go into the depths of acting. A lot of these films are being dubbed in Hindi. If I watch an actor act and their voice is dubbed in another language by someone else, I can’t do that (relate to it).”

The 48-year-old finds it unfair when nepotism only becomes a matter of discussion in Hindi films and is overlooked in the case of other film industries. “Do saal pandemic mein log nepo kids ke baare mein chilla rahe the. The films people are watching [from the south film industries] woh kya baahar ke log hain? They are also nepo kids. People kept shouting about nepotism, but then the films coming from other states, unmein bhi toh nepo kids hain,” he states.

Lauding Bollywood, he feels its embracive nature sets it apart. “In our industry, people from outside [at least] get work, our situation is better [compared to other film industries],” says the actor, who is known for being straightforward and blunt as far as speaking his heart out is concerned. How difficult has being undiplomatic been for him? “Mujhe jo feel hota hai, main bolta hoon, chaahe log mujhe gaali dein. Other people want to be politically correct,” the Raat Akeli Hai (2020) actor ends.