Refusing to discuss the turmoil in his personal life, Nawazuddin Siddiqui on his latest release Raat Akeli Hai, and why he won't steer towards filmmaking
Shaheen Parkar (MID-DAY; August 2, 2020)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui's personal life has been under the scanner ever since wife Aaliya sent him a divorce notice in May. There have also been allegations of abuse and misconduct as his estranged wife made startling revelations on social media. The actor fields the question calmly, stating, "I don't want to say anything about my personal life in public."

He would rather concentrate on acting and his family occupation of farming in hometown Budhana. "I practice farming whenever I am back in my village," says the actor. While he kicked off 2020 with the release of his long-pending Ghoomketu in May, he has turned his attention to Raat Akeli Hai that dropped on Netflix on Friday. "When I shoot, it doesn't matter whether it is for theatres or OTT platforms. My job is to challenge myself to perform better. You should keep working and giving your best shot. It may take time, but one day, you will earn the fruits of labour. I had no clue if I would achieve success, but slowly and steadily, I have reached here."

After Kahaani (2012) and Raees (2017), Siddiqui is playing a cop again in the noir thriller, which marks the directorial debut of casting director Honey Trehan. Having known him over the years, he is thrilled that Trehan chose him for his first feature film. "I am familiar with his creative process. I got to know him well during the making of Raees, in which he cast me."

The actor rues that casting directors, despite being integral to a movie, do not get their due. "When people watch a film, they say the actors were well-chosen for their parts. They don't realise that it is the work of a casting director," says Siddiqui, who will next be seen in brother Shamas's directorial venture, Bole Chudiyan. "I don't even know the D of direction; I'm happy to leave it to my brother."

Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSAN TIMES; May 23, 2020)

The divorce dispute between actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his wife Aaliya aka Anjana Kishor Pandey took a new turn after there were rumours of her alleged affair with common friend Peeyush Pandey. After the latter rubbished the rumours, Aaliya joined Twitter to “put the truth” out.

“I am not into ‘any relationship’,” she wrote and added the photo was cropped to “make such ridiculous claims to divert attention”.

Talking to us, Aaliya says, “Some people only know how to cheat and malign others. Everyone knows of Nawaz’s affairs. Even Niharika Singh [who was in a relationship with him] said she was unaware of his marriage.”

The 37-year-old says the picture doing the rounds is manipulated, from a party. “If you check photos I tweeted, you’d know,” she adds.

As for Nawaz, she shares their kids Shora (9) and Yaani (5) would get scared seeing them fight. “He doesn’t want their responsibility so I’ve sought their sole custody,” she adds.

While Aaliya sent a legal notice to Nawazuddin seeking divorce, rumours about her alleged affair with a friend surfaced yesterday
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 21, 2020)

A day after Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s wife Aaliya Siddiqui (original name Anjana Kishor Pandey) opened up to Bombay Times on why she decided to send the actor a legal notice seeking divorce and maintenance, reports in the media surfaced, hinting at an alleged relationship between her and their friend, Peeyush Pandey. A picture was published in certain media reports of the two, speculating ‘what’s brewing’. The said photo was told to be Aaliya’s WhatsApp display picture a few days ago.

We reached out to Peeyush, a media professional. Sounding shocked, he clarified, “I got to know about their divorce notice through the media. I am the scapegoat here. These link-up rumours are completely baseless and ridiculous! Why am I being dragged into this? I have nothing to do with this. People around them know about their feud and what is going on between them (their estranged relationship). I want to stay away from it. Why is my name and reputation being tarnished? I am in a relationship with someone, and this sort of rumour is extremely distasteful. This puts me in a spot with my family and friends. Luckily, my better half is aware of the truth as she is also friends with Aaliya. I will consult my lawyer as to what needs to be done to safeguard my interests.”

BT has learnt that the picture used by some media outlets of Aaliya and Peeyush was a cropped photo. The original photo, which we have seen, features three people — Aaliya, Peeyush and his girlfriend. (We were requested to withhold the photo from being published to safeguard the third person’s privacy).

A source close to Aaliya added, “Aaliya had that picture as her display photo a few days ago on WhatsApp. That picture has three people and not two as is being portrayed. She put it out there, because there’s nothing to hide. She is friends with Peeyush and his girlfriend and all three feature in that picture. There’s nothing more to it. To insinuate that she is having an affair, is playing dirty. People can part ways in a dignified manner without resorting to this kind of mudslinging. This wasn’t required.”

Speaking about the picture, Peeyush said, “That picture was taken at a party and there were over 20 people there. We all click pictures. It’s a normal thing to do. If there are three people in the picture and you crop it and use just two people, you can claim whatever you want to.”

Incidentally, Peeyush has worked with Nawaz in the past, and he revealed, “I met Aaliya through Nawaz. I have no professional engagement with him today, but I have worked closely with Nawaz for almost three years in the past. I used to handle him as a talent manager. I respect Nawaz as an artiste till date. He is a great actor and has struggled a lot. Success stories like him are rare to find. But, the current situation is discomforting, and I don’t want to be associated with this.”

Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 20, 2020)

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, his mother Mehroonisa Siddiqui and a few family members went to their hometown Budhana, Uttar Pradesh, last week, and all of them are under a 14-day quarantine. While many speculated that Siddiqui went home for Eid, he clarified on Twitter that it was their mother’s wish to go home, as she was unwell.

Negating Eid celebration reports, his brother, director Shamas N Siddiqui, also tweeted a copy of the travel permission they took.

“Ammi used to take care of our sister (Syama Tamshi Siddiqui). She couldn’t accept her death and has been getting panic attacks,” says Shamas, 36, adding that the day communication started, Nawaz took the permissions to go to Budhana.

Syama died at the age of 26 last year after a prolonged battle with cancer.

Shamas, who’s in Mumbai, adds, “Nawaz bhai wanted to fulfil ammi’s wish. They got their Coronavirus test done, and thankfully, results came negative. Though she’s doing better now, bhai has no plans of coming back to Mumbai. He’ll be back only when shootings resume.”

He also adds that the family won’t celebrate Eid this year. “Hamaara koi apna hume chhod ke chala gaya hai, hum kaise Eid manaa sakte hain?”
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NAWAZUDDIN’S WIFE AALIYA FILES FOR DIVORCE

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s wife Aaliya has filed for divorce. She sent him a legal notice on May 7 seeking maintenance. “There are several serious reasons behind my problems with Nawaz,” Aaliya told ABP News. She added that problems between them have been going on since 2010, “but now things have escalated beyond repair”. The couple has been married for a decade and has two kids.

In a chat with BT, Aaliya opens up on why she finally decided to end their marriage of 10 years
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; May 19, 2020)

On Monday, Aaliya Siddiqui’s lawyer Abhay Sahai informed BT that a legal notice has been sent to actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui on behalf of his wife, who is seeking divorce and maintenance.

Aaliya, a budding film producer, told BT, “There are a lot of things that I don’t want to bring in the public domain as of now, but our problems started soon after we got married over a decade ago. Two months of lockdown gave me a lot of time to introspect. Self-respect is extremely important in a marriage. Woh meri khatam ho chuki thi, I didn’t have that. I was made to feel like a nobody, I always felt alone. His brother Shamas was also an issue. I have gone back to my original name, Anjana Kishor Pandey. I don’t want to be reminded that I am using someone’s identity for my benefit.”

She added, “I want to go with the flow. I haven’t thought much about the future, but I don’t want this marriage anymore. There are no chances of reconciliation.” Aaliya hopes to get the sole custody of her two children. She said, “I have raised them and I want their custody.”

Aaliya’s lawyer Abhay told BT, “We sent the legal notice to Nawazuddin on May 7, 2020, via email and WhatsApp, as we couldn’t send it through post due to the Coronavirus lockdown. Our client, Mrs Siddiqui, has also sent him the notice, but he hasn’t responded till date. The notice claims maintenance and divorce. I would not like to get into the contents of the notice, as the allegations are serious and sensitive to the Siddiqui family.”

We also reached out to Nawazuddin, who didn’t wish to comment at this time.

Sai Kabir, Aaliya Siddiqui, Franck Priot and Mathias Duplessy

BOMBAY TIMES (June 13, 2019)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s wife producer Aaliya Siddiqui unveiled the first look of her upcoming film, Holy Cow, at the recently concluded 72nd Cannes Film Festival.

The film’s story is based on the social chaos of our times, and a cow is used as a metaphor to project the larger reality. Currently, in the post-production stage, the film stars Sanjay Mishra, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Rahul Mittra, Sadia Siddiqui and Mukesh Bhatt in key roles, while Nawazuddin makes a special appearance. French music director Mathias Duplessy has composed the background score.

This social satire — a collaboration between Aaliya’s production house Y S Entertainment and Paris-based production house, Ghosts City — has been written and directed by Sai Kabir, who previously helmed Revolver Rani.

Aaliya, along with co-producer Franck Priot, Sai Kabir and Mathias Duplessy, attended a special presentation for the media and buyers, and also participated in a question-answer session at the Cannes Film Market.

Aaliya says, “The script of the film struck a chord with me during the very first reading. My aim is to make sensible, sensitive and viable cinema, and set up a boutique production house, not a film factory. After Holy Cow, I am working on another ambitious project. Titled Teejan Bai, it is a biopic of the legendary folk singer of the same name.”

BT captures an interaction between the actor, his wife Aaliya — the brain behind the film — and Teejan Bai, who recalls her journey and the storms she had to brave
Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; February 11, 2019)

It’s raining biopics in Bollywood and there’s one more in the making. BT has exclusively learnt that Nawazuddin and wife Aaliya Siddiqui are set to make a film on Chhattisgarh’s legendary folk artiste, Padma Vibhushan awardee Teejan Bai. The veteran artiste is the greatest exponent of Pandvani (Pandavon ki katha in Chhattisgarhi language), a traditional performing art form involving narration of tales from the Mahabharata.

Nawaz has been a huge admirer of Teejan Bai’s work since his early days as a theatre actor and has seen her perform live.

However, the thought of making a film on her was Aaliya’s, who will soon make a foray into cinema as a producer with a film helmed by Sai Kabir. The Teejan bai biopic will be her second outing as a producer. While the film is still being scripted, BT was the first to catch up with Nawaz, Aaliya and Teejan Bai in Mumbai. It was also the first time that the three were coming together for a discussion. Excerpts from a tête-à-tête with the trio...

As we entered the room of a suburban five-star hotel in Mumbai, Teejan Bai welcomed us with a warm namaste and expressed gratitude to Aaliya and Nawaz for dedicating a film to her. Though she isn’t too acquainted with the current crop of actors, she acknowledged Nawaz’s work and told us that she is aware of him as an actor. She even recalled her meeting with director Imtiaz Ali (during Tamasha, 2015) and said, “Itney bade director hamare ghar aaye, hamare saath khaana khaaya. Woh Tamasha bana rahey the tab. He spent almost four hours in my village. I showed him around.”

Explaining why she chose to make a film on Teejan, Aaliya explained, “I’ve always wanted to make a film on amma (Teejan Bai). Even at this age, she performs on stage for hours and doesn’t forget a single word. She fought the norms created by the society, at a time when women barely had the right to speak up and that’s admirable. I would love to see Amitabh Bachchan sir playing the role of her nana, as in reality, her grandfather played an integral part in her life and career. Interestingly, we discovered that Amitabh ji’s legendary father Harivanshrai Bachchan was also an admirer of Teejan ji. Amitji had also invited amma to his home on his birthday.”

Teejan was accompanied by her assistant, who helped us communicate with her better. He innocently pointed out that she barely remembers her age. While she says she is 63, she could be well in her 70s, but can still perform on stage for over an hour at a stretch. She cut in, “Government ne naukri diya tha. Main anpad gawar insaan kya jaanu. Naukri ke time age poocha toh aise hi bata diya. Mujhe baad mein pata chala ke mera age toh zyaada hai.”

In times of women empowerment and fight for gender parity, as Teejan recollects her life’s journey, and her success against all odds, you wonder why it took so long for Bollywood to notice her. She regrets her lack of education and despite enjoying global recognition and receiving various national and international awards, it is heartwarming to see her simplicity and honesty.

NAWAZUDDIN’S FANBOY MOMENT!
A self-confessed Teejan fan, Nawaz recalled, “Like hundreds of people, I have also been a fan of Teejan Bai. Her shows were always houseful. People used to stand on their seats and clap. They would queue up to catch a glimpse of her. I must have been 20 years old. I got goosebumps when I watched her perform live in Delhi for the first time, in the early 90s. Woh ek mahol create karti thi. Traditional folk artistes like her have a way of telling a story with their gestures, voice, and body language. It’s dramatic, OTT and magnificently enthralling. Legends like her have kept our country’s culture and art alive.You need to conserve what is yours. It hurts to see that today’s generation might not even know about her. ”

As far as his involvement in the film is concerned, he added, “Aaliya is my wife and I will support her as much as I can. I will be involved in this film as far as the creative part is concerned. Teejan Bai is a legend and we hope we can make this film relevant, not just for the film festivals, but also the audience in general.”

Happy to know that a film is being made on her, Teejan Bai said, “Maine apni zindagi mein kaafi utaar chadhav dekhi hain. Mujhe khushi hai ke mere jeevan par ek picture ban rahi hai. It reminds me of all the problems and hurdles that I have overcome in all these years.”


TEEJAN BAI’S LIFE STORY
Attributing her art to God, Teejan revealed that Pandvani was her calling and it came naturally to her. But that was a problem, as women weren’t supposed to perform on stage at that time. It was condemned. Since she didn’t pay heed to her parents’ disapproval, she was asked to leave the house. She explained, “I hail from Ganiyari (Chhattisgarh) and I’ve been performing since the age of 13. I am no poet. I used to hear my nana (grandfather) sing at night and I learnt it from him. Words and pictures came naturally to my mind. Pandvani yeh kaam ladkon ka hai, ladkiyon ka nahi, aisa mujhe bola gaya. Mujhe mana karte the sab log. Maa kehti thi ke sab gaon wale taana maarte hai. Main ladki hokar ladkon ka kaam kar rahi thi. I never understood why I can’t do it. Why shouldn’t a woman perform on stage? I was told that if I continued doing it, no one would marry my siblings and that we would be ostracised by our village and society. Uss zamaney mein Hindu dharam mein aisa samajhte the ki jinka gharaana accha nahi hai, wohi aurtein stage pe perform karti hai. I was told to focus on household chores. I felt, Bhagwaan ki katha bataane mein kyun katrana’, so I continued singing. Maine maa ka nahi suna isliye mujhe ghar se nikaal diya. I was very young then. I’ve looked after myself from a very young age. Mujhe chulha jalaana bhi nahi aata tha. I became a nomad. I travelled wherever the work took me. My parents loved me, but they were adamant that I give up Pandvani, which I didn’t do. I got married thrice. Even my in-laws would say, ‘Humein gaana gaanewali nahi, khaana bananewali bahu chahiye’.”

AWARDS, GLORIES AND A MEETING WITH INDIRA GANDHI
Speaking of awards and degrees conferred upon her, including the recent Padma Vibhushan, Teejan naively admitted, “I didn’t have the knowledge of these awards (Padma Awards) until people told me what they meant. When Bilaspur University awarded me with a D.Litt (doctorate) honour, much to their amusement, I told them that I can’t have two D.Litts as I was already offered one by Raipur University. I told them give it to someone else. They laughed and told me, ‘Aisey Dr ki upaadi aapko dus bhi mil sakti hai’. That’s when I thought, ‘Oh, I just got two. I want more (laughs!)’. I have four such D. Litt degrees today — from Raipur, Bilaspur, Raigarh and Jabalpur universities. I have even performed in front of Indira ji (former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi), and unko bhi mera performance pasand aaya tha. She thought that my courage was admirable. She even joked with me saying, ‘Chhattisgarh mein Mahabharat karvati ho kya?’ To which I replied, ‘Karvati nahi, sunaati hoon’. Impressed by my repartee, she couldn’t believe that I wasn’t educated.”

IMTIAZ ALI’S TEEJAN BAI CONNECT!
Like Nawaz, another huge fan of Teejan Bai from the industry is filmmaker Imtiaz Ali. Interestingly, his Ranbir Kapoor and Deepika Padukone-starrer Tamasha was strongly influenced by her craft.

Describing her as the ‘rock star of Indian tamasha (grand show)’, Imtiaz told BT, “Before starting Tamasha, Ranbir and I decided to visit the rockstar of Indian Tamasha, Teejan Bai. We went to her home in Ganiyari village (Raipur) where she still rehearses and figures her lines. She even performed for us. I wanted Ranbir to see how stories are told with drama, the real Indian way.”