He glazes the screen with his fierce performances and throbbing intensity, and yes, he can hold a conversation with his philosophy on cinema, acting, et al, but that’s not all there is to Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He is a man with a superb sense of humour, straight-faced and self-deprecating, too. Even while recounting his struggles from the past — he adds a tinge of humour to real situations. And you might think he is pulling off yet another brilliant performance, but nah, it’s all real, no ‘games’ here. He reveals that he wants to see a Bollywood hero on screen with more shades of grey, while the audience across platforms wants to see more of Nawaz — any shade, shape or suit. Bring it on! Excerpts from a chat with the actor on the thing that matters most — movies. Read on…

There are a lot of reasons why a film works or does not work. There are several factors like the number of screenings, shows and all of that which is not in my control. All I know that is with whatever experience I have, I need to put out an honest performance. After the shot, I don’t know what happens. I think the audience can see the honesty and effort that I put in front of the camera. I try really hard to capture every beautiful moment during a shot. As an actor, I feel no sense of supremacy. I am a student of cinema, and I always want to stay that way.

I have done about 100 comedy roles during my theatre days. When I was in Delhi, mera yeh haal ho gaya tha ki jab main stage pe aata tha, log hasna shuru kar dete thay. It would happen to Rajpal Yadav and me.

Ajeeb image ban gayi thi, so even my teacher told me, 'Jab tum Mumbai jaaoge, tab comedy roles mat karna, thoda serious role karna'. Mera intense face hai, so I started getting such roles. I have done a comedy role in Freaky Ali (2016); in fact, Gangs of Wasseypur mein bhi bahut kamaal ka humour hai. I don’t believe that slapstick comedy is the only kind of comedy. There is something like subtle comedy. The kind of roles we get is also a matter of perception. Like the perception of the hero in Bollywood. Jo Bollywood ka hero hota hai, woh sabse zyada clichéd hota hai. For years, I have been seeing only one kind of Bollywood hero — who is full of goodness, saves people, respects everyone and is the perfect man. Arre, kam se kam hero mein thodi si buraai bhi dikhao, usko insaan banao. Add some grey shades and flaws. We need to shake him up a bit. I want to see a hero with flaws, and someone who is more real.

While that may be true, we are still not delving into the complexities of the human psyche. People say, ‘I want to tell a different story’, and I ask them…tell me more about the layers in the character. Even our content-driven stories are very simple, it does not give us a chance to go deep into a character’s mind. The human mind is so layered and fascinating, and peeling off each of those layers is so exciting. I want to explore the human mind, and not just tell a story. I like playing characters that are layered and flawed, but strangely, in our industry, we call such parts ‘negative roles’. Even when I take up the role of a gangster, like Faizal Khan (Gangs Of Wasseypur), I don’t view him as just a gangster. To me, he is a person with flaws and complexities. He lives between right and wrong.

I didn’t come to Mumbai to act in films, I knew that I didn’t have the personality for that. In fact, I tried television, but didn’t get any roles. While auditioning, the cameraman would say, ‘Tere ko shoot karne mein time lagta hai. Extra light lagaani padti hai face pe’. I would say, ‘Kya kare yaar, yehi face leke aaya hoon (laughs!)’. Hum toh majboori mein films mein aaye. Jab TV ke darwaze bandh ho gaye, cinema ke taraf bhaage, kahin na kahin toh bhaagna tha, na? When the doors would open even slightly for movies, I would grab whatever I could get, even ek-do minutes ke roles; I was happy with that. Hamein problem hoti thi jab bhook lagti thi. I would think bhook lagti hai toh khana milna chahiye, that was the only thing that I was worried about.

I never had this dream of fitting into the industry... I was confident about my skill, but I never thought that one day I want to be a star. The only thing I knew was acting, so I had to keep working at it. Pehle se logon ne kaha tha ki kuch nahin hoga mere yeh shakal ke saath. I was so used to hearing this that it had no effect on me. In fact, I took advantage of it, and told myself that I have to focus on nothing other than my craft, and I did that.

Hum yahan pe kisi ke bharose nahin aaye the. I was determined to make it work, so, I decided that whatever I do, it will be here — in Mumbai. I had decided that I would keep trying, even if it took me 10, 20 or 50 years. I came here as a trained actor, and I wanted to get work on merit. I believed that anyone who trusted that I was a good actor would give me work. If they didn’t, humko koi fikr nahi thi. I wouldn’t take it badly; I would just move on and approach the next person for work. Every morning, I would visit several offices with my biodata and pictures, and by night, I would be so tired that I would go to sleep peacefully. I had told myself ki struggle karna hamara dharam hai, woh karte rahenge, chahe pachhas saal karna pade.

Well, talent is a different thing, what I was confident about was my craft and hard work. I believe that talent is a vague word. Aaj kal har actor bolta hai ki main talented hoon. You might be talented, par ek picture mein khapat ho jayegi talent. Aage kya? For that, you need training, education, skill and experience. Talent ke basis pe ek picture kar sakte ho, but to consistently do good work, you have to work on your craft. Talent mein bhi badlaav aata hai, but if you keep working hard on your craft, you can polish your skill and talent. There is no such theory that an actor is talented for life, it is an ongoing process.

Salman was in Dubai on Wednesday to promote brother Sohail Khan's upcoming production, Freaky Ali, a sports-drama featuring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Amy Jackson. The Bhais praised their leading man profusely with Sohail quipping, “If Nawaz works hard for three years he can do what Hrithik (Roshan) does, but even if Hrithik works for 10 years, he won't be able to do what Nawaz does.“ Over to Mr Roshan for a rejoinder...

Dabangg is back in the news and Arbaaz Khan who made his directorial debut with Part 2, admits that the third instalment could roll by the end of next year but refuses to put a date to it. “If you want to keep a franchise going, you just can't keep coming every two years, you have to deliver too. Even the Munnabhais and Golmaals arrive after a gap, every franchise needs breathing space. Someone's role increases, someone else's reduces, you can't repeat stuff,“ he points out.

Will Munni, Malaika Arora Khan, who was an unforgettable part of Dabangg, be back? “She wasn't there in Part 2, it was Kareena (Kapoor) doing a “Fevicol se“. Change is important,“ he retorts. And what's their relationship status, following rumours of a split, an imminent divorce and a reconciliation, after sightings of them meeting for dinner and reports that they are willing to give their marriage a second chance? “At this point of time we are not together, we are separated, and that's about it,“ he shrugs.

Right now the actor-producer-director is gung-ho about brother Sohail's upcoming sports drama, Freaky Ali, in which he plays a significant role. He points out that all the three brothers, including bhai Salman, have their own production companies now so they can back subjects they believe in. “All three of us want to tell different stories. Maybe I wouldn't be confident producing a Freaky Ali even though I like it. Ditto Hello Brother and Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya. Sohail made them, maybe I wouldn't. If we worked under one banner there would have been a lot of resistance. Sometimes you have to back your own vision,“ he reasons, admitting he consults dad Salim Khan and Salman on scripts since they have the experience. “They give their opinions but don't influence me. I may still go ahead with a project and they don't have a problem with that. It's better than consulting others.“ The Khan-daan is known to be extremely close-knit and Arbaaz gives credit to his parents for having imbibed this feeling of togetherness. “We give each other space, we don't interfere or intervene. If Salman is in trouble he doesn't have to say it, I'm there to give him emotional support, that's all one needs,“ he says, adding that bhai getting a clean chit after a decade-long legal battle has come as a respite.

Recently, Salman complained he wanted to be in Freaky Ali too but they didn't take him on board. Arbaaz laughs, “Sometimes he wants to do certain things that won't justify his presence. He's too big a star to play random characters. We'd rather he do a full-fledged role with us but we involve him in the making of every film.“

He goes on to praise Sohail as a focussed, dedicated and hungry director who's mounted a small film in a big way with good technicians. “In the past we had Salman as a safety net, he brought in the audience. This is Sohail's chance to prove himself with an underdog film,“ he asserts, raving about 'hero' Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Arbaaz who plays Nawaz's mentor, sidekick and friend, says he got interested in golf after doing it. “I'm a cricket buff, I follow tennis and English Premiere League football. But now I understand golf which needs skill, patience, accuracy and temperament. When I used to watch it on TV I thought it was a boring old man's sport,“ says Arbaaz who is planning a film, Lorrywala. “Whether I produce it or not I'll decide after figuring out the budget and the cast.“

And is Salman tying the knot soon with girlfriend Iulia Vantur? “We've been hearing about his marriage since his first year in films, he'll get married when he has to,“ Arbaaz says shortly.