Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui recalls the gruelling shoot of his latest movie Manjhi for a fan who loved his performance
Ektaa Malik (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 6, 2015)

Marlon Brando and Guru Dutt stare down at us as we twiddle our thumbs in anticipation. Their pictures adorn the walls of Nawazuddin Siddiqui's Andheri office, where we are asked to wait for the actor. Not that Siddiqui has an issue with keeping time - we, in fact, arrive a few minutes early for the interview, with the actor's die-hard fan, assistant director Prakash Madhale in tow. Madhale, an admirer of Siddiqui's craft, is also a keen follower of his work and has watched his movies numerous times.

He finally strolls in and settles down on the divan and casually puts his feet up, thus setting the tone for the light and breezy interview that was to follow. Madhale, who has just watched Manjhi - The Mountain Man, asks, "How did you prepare for the role of Dashrath Manjhi? It must've been tough to adapt a real-life character?" Siddiqui replies that he had to stick to the director's vision. "Ketan had done years of research. I visited Gehlour village (near Gaya) and spent days talking to people who spent time with Manjhi. Apparently, he loved holding court and was a humourous guy." Siddiqui also spent hours on YouTube watching videos of Manjhi, who passed away in 2007.

The film captures the 22 years that Manjhi took to single-handedly breakdown a mountain to carve a path. Madhale is curious about the effect the role had on the actor. "Arre yaar. Yes, one had to adapt to one emotion, one get-up. And then, wham! You have to change to play a different age and a new emotion, not to mention the body language," adds the actor.

In real life, Manjhi, even as he grew older, remained very high on energy and Siddiqui was adamant about getting the body language right. "The body weight shifts. The centre of gravity changes. When you are young, you stand on the legs. As you age, you start using your hips and butt more as your body begins to bend over," he explains.

Madhale asks the actor whether he could easily relate to the character of Manjhi. "I come from a family of farmers and I am used to hard work. We used to grow rice and a few other crops in our fields. Till date, I wake up at 5.00 am and share the same madness and passion as Manjhi," says Siddiqui.

The actor shares an anecdote involving a heavy hammer, which helped him deliver his career's best performance. "I first used a dummy prop instead of the real, 15-16kg hammer. But it didn't have the same impact. The moment you pick up the real thing, everything changes. The dialogue delivery, the body language and the intensity," says the actor.

Madhale quickly shoots his next, "Were there times when your vision of the character differed from that of the director's?" asks Madhale. "An actor is like a prostitute — we have to satisfy the director," laughs Siddiqui. "I thought of underplaying the character and being subtle. But Ketan wanted me to be larger-than-life, for the real Manjhi was like that. And ultimately, Ketan was right for Manjhi was larger than life. He was a legend in that region."

Siddiqui's last few films have fared well and Madhale wonders if luck has anything to do with it. "None," says the actor. "I don't believe in luck. It's hard work that pays off in the end of the day. The dialogue in the film 'Bhagwan ke bharose mat baitho, kya pata bhagwan tumhare bharose baitha ho,' sums it up for me."

Madhale shoots his next. "If you see a Nawaz, who is still struggling to break into the industry, on the street, what would you say to him? "Lage raho. Be prepared for that one phone call when it comes. I knew many good actors who came with me to Mumbai from Delhi. But over time, they became jaded. Some became cynical, some became overweight and some returned home. And when the call did come, many were not able to do justice to what they were offered. So, be prepared," he concluded.

Renuka Vyavahare (BOMBAY TIMES; August 17, 2015)

Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; August 6, 2015)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who’s been on a whirlwind multi-city tour to spread the word about Manjhi - The Mountain Man, has now added a Bihar village to his travel plans. No, not for promotions though. The actor and his director, Ketan Mehta, will be visiting Gehlour on August 17 to pay tribute to late Dashrath Manjhi, whose inspirational life has been adapted into the biopic. It is the Mountain Man’s eighth death anniversary that day.

A source involved with the film says, “Ketan and the marketing team came up with this plan to visit Gehlaur and meet Manjhi’s family. We will also go to his memorial and unveil an ornamental gate there, followed by a visit to his charitable trust. In fact, we have decided to donate a portion of our film’s collections to the trust.”

While Nawaz was not available for comment, Ketan says the visit will be a way of showing gratitude to Manjhi’s family for their support during the film’s making. “His son, Bhairath, and the villagers extended full cooperation to the crew while we were shooting for the film in Gehlaur. In fact, Manjhi’s son and daughter attended the film’s mahurat too. We want to spend the day in their midst to thank them for their support,” he adds.

Gaurav Dubey (MID-DAY; February 19, 2014)

Dashrath Manjhi, a landless farmer who was also known as 'The Mountain Man', has found support in an unlikely corner — Bollywood.

It has emerged that actor Aamir Khan, who's all set to host the next season of the show 'Satyamev Jayate', will be visiting Gehlour, the mountain man's native village in Bihar

"When Aamir heard Manjhi's story, he was highly inspired by it and he expressed his desire to visit the village. He now wants to meet Dashrath's family and celebrate his undying spirit. Accordingly, he will fly to Bihar on February 22 to meet Dasrath’s family," says a source.

It may be pointed out here that Manjhi's wife died due to lack of medical treatment in their village and in a bid to save others from a similar fate, he carved a 360-foot-long path to form a road passing through a mountain in the Gehlour hills, toiling day and night for a good 22 years: from 1960 to 1982.

His feat drastically reduced the distance between the Atri and Wazirganj blocks of the Gaya district, bringing him national acclaim. When he died in 2007, he was given a state funeral by the Bihar government. In fact, his life story was featured in season one of Aamir's show.