Nawazuddin Siddiqui is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in Patang, and his performance was appreciated by cinema critic Roger Ebert.

 

Bio/Wiki
Nickname	Nowaz
Profession	Actor
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 168 cm in meters- 1.68 m in feet inches- 5’ 6”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Career
Debut	Film: Sarfarosh (1999) TV: Parsai Kehte Hain (2001; on DD National)
Awards, Honours	2012: National Film Awards in the category of "Special Jury Award" for the films- Talaash: The Answer Lies Within, Kahaani, Gangs of Wasseypur, and Dekh Indian Circus 2013: Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film "Lunchbox"
Personal Life
Date of Birth	19 May 1974
Age (as in 2020)	46 Years
Birthplace	Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
Zodiac sign	Taurus
Signature/Autograph
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India
School	B. S. S. Inter College Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
College/University	• Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar, Uttarakand • The National School of Drama (NSD), New Delhi
Educational Qualification	Bachelor of Science in Chemistry
Religion	Islam Note: He considers himself not just a Muslim, but a bit of all religions. [1]
Caste/Sect	Sunni
Food Habit	Non-Vegetarian
Address	A 3-bedroom sea-facing apartment in Versova, Mumbai
Hobbies	Flying Kites, Watching Films, Farming
Controversies	• In October 2017, his former girlfriends Sunita Rajwar and actress Niharika Singh (who co-starred with him in Miss Lovely) accused him of misrepresenting facts in his biography- An Ordinary Life: A Memoir. Following the heavy criticism, Nawaz announced he's withdrawing his biography, few days after its release. A complaint against Nawazuddin was made with the National Commission for Women (NCW). Niharika Singh's advocate Gautam Gulati, on behalf of Niharika, lodged a complaint against Nawazuddin for "outraging the modesty of the actress." • In December 2017, Nawazuddin's alleged first girlfriend, Sunita Rajwar, also sued him for defaming her in his memoir. According to Sunita, Nawaz mentioned in his book that Sunita dumped him because he was not successful and wrongly portrayed her as someone “who drove Nawaz to think of committing suicide." Reportedly. Miss Rajwar sent him a legal notice and asked for compensation of Rs 2 crore for allegedly attempting to damage her image. However, the actor retaliated with a counter-notice, calling Sunita's case a "mere stunt for cheap publicity." He said that the Sunita in the memoir was not Sunita Rajwar (but some other Sunita). [2] • In July 2018, Rajeev Sinha, a Congress politician from the West Bengal, lodged an F.I.R. against Nawazuddin and the producers of the Netflix web series, Sacred Games for defaming the former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, and also, for taking the level of Bollywood to a new low. • In May 2020, he received a divorce notice from his wife Aaliya (aka Anjali). While speaking to Indian Express, Aaliya said that their marriage was in troubled waters for the past one decade, and she was seeking an opportunity to end the marriage, which came in the form of lockdown. She didn't disclose much behind the reason for the divorce notice and said, "I won't be able to speak on the issues right away, but yes, we have been having problems from the last ten years. Now, during the lockdown, I got thinking and thought I had to end this marriage. I had sent him the notice much before he left for Muzaffarpur, and he has not yet replied to my notice, so I have to take a legal route now." [3]
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	• Sunita Rajwar (Actress) • Niharika Singh (actress) • Anjali
Family
Wife/Spouse	Anjali Kishor Pandey (aka Aaliya)
Children	Son- Yaani Daughter- Shora
Parents	Father- Late Nawabuddin Siddiqui (a farmer) Mother- Mehroonisa
Siblings	Brother(s)- Shamas Nawab Siddiqui (filmmaker), Ayazuddin Siddiqui and 5 more Sister(s)- Syama Tamshi Siddiqui (died in December 2019 at 26 after battling breast cancer) & 1 more
Favourite Things
Actor(s)	Amitabh Bachchan, Ashish Vidyarthi
Actress	Sridevi
Film	Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Destination(s)	Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Style Quotient
Car(s) Collection	• Ford Ikon • Ford Endeavor (SUV)
Assets/Properties	A one-bedroom flat in Zohra Nagar, Andheri West, Mumbai

 

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nawazuddin Siddiqui

• Does Nawazuddin Siddiqui smoke?: Yes (a chain smoker) ^[4]

• Does Nawazuddin Siddiqui drink alcohol?: Yes

• He was born into a Zamindar Muslim Family called as Numberdars.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s Farm in Budhana

• His father was a farmer and also used to run an Aara Machine (a wood cutting machine).

• He is the eldest among his nine siblings.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui (sitting extreme right) With His Mother And Siblings

• Throughout his childhood, he studied under the lamp; as electricity was a rarity in his village.

• After his schooling, he moved to Haridwar to pursue his graduation in Chemistry at the Gurukul Kangri University. During his graduation, he used to participate in various extra-curricular activities such as declamation, painting, and drama.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui Participating in a Declamation Contest in His College

• He has a degree in Chemistry, and during his days of struggle, he worked at a Chemist shop in Vadodara.

• He moved to Delhi to pursue his acting aspirations and joined a theatre group. Since there was not enough money in theatres, he worked as a watchman for the subsistence for around 5 years.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui During His Struggling Days

• He was enrolled in the National School of Drama (NSD), and after passing out of the NSD, he moved to Mumbai in 2004 to pursue his acting career further.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui With His NSD Fellows

• While in Mumbai, Nawaz had to face one of the worst years of his struggle. He had to stay in the apartment of one of his seniors at the NSD on the condition that he would cook the meal for him.

• He made his Bollywood debut in 1999 with a very small role in the Aamir Khan starrer film- Sarfarosh.
  

• Initially, he worked at the film studios and got only stereotypical roles.

• He appeared as a pickpocket in the 2003 comedy-drama- Munna Bhai M.B.B.S.- starring Sunil Dutt and Sanjay Dutt.

• He tried to get work in the Television Industry but could not get success.

• He remained out of work between 2002-05 and shared a flat with 4 other people in Mumbai.

• In 2007, he got a role in Anurag Kashyap‘s Black Friday, which paved his way for other important roles.

• His first lead role appearance in a feature film was as a wedding singer- Chakku in Prashant Bhargava’s Patang (2007-08). Nawazuddin considers his role in the film as the turning point of her acting career.

• He also appeared in a cameo role in the song- Emotional Atyachar of the 2009 movie- Dev D.

• He got recognition as an actor in the 2010 Aamir Khan Productions’- Peepli Live in which his role was of a journalist.

• In 2012, after playing the role of an Intelligence Officer in the film- Kahaani, he became a household name.

• Nawazuddin describes his role of Sonu Duggal in Ashim Ahluwalia’s- Miss Lovely as his most realistic performance so-far, which was premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

• His role of Faizal Khan in Anurag Kashyap‘s- Gangs of Wasseypur, established him as one of the most promising actors in the Indian Film Industry.
  

• At the 2015 New York Indian Film Festival, he bagged the Best Actor Award for his role in the film- Haraamkhor.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Haraamkhor

• In 2015, his father died due to brain haemorrhage; he was paralyzed for a few years before passing away.

• He married Anjali at a very young age; Anjali & Nawazuddin are from the same village.

• He is a very shy person; he likes to stay quiet and away from stardom.

• In April 2017, he shared a video on his Instagram account; explaining that he is not just a Muslim, but a bit of all religion.

 

• He has worked with all the 3 Khans of Bollywood. (Salman Khan– Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Aamir Khan– Talaash & Shah Rukh Khan– Raees).

• During an interview, Nawaz revealed that had he not become an actor, he would be a farmer; as he still holds his ancestral farm fields back at home in Budhana, Uttar Pradesh.

   

  

  Nawazuddin Siddiqui At His Farm Fields

• Here’s a glimpse of Nawazuddin’s life: