Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays Manto in Nandita Das' film. (Image courtesy: Instagram)
Quick Take
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Manto had always been true: Nawazuddin Siddiqui
He was engrossed in Manto, unable to think to anything else
Nawazuddin says he'll make commercial films he needs money
"He was a big fighter for free speech. Manto had always been true and wrote what he saw around him. The greatest challenge for me was that I was not like him. I am not like Manto. I tell lots of lies. I had to listen to my director and really had to purify myself (I was very polluted) before I began shooting," he said.
The actor further stressed upon the fact that he was so engrossed in the role of Manto that he "could not think anything else" and was caught in Manto's state of mind for a long time. Now that the shooting is over, he is trying hard to get out of that frame of mind so that he can focus on other films, films that are not necessarily artistic in their content.
"I want to do artistic films but also commercial films because I need the money and because I need the money I continue to make films," he said. It was also revealed during the session that Siddiqui did not charge a "single penny" for Manto and did the movie free of cost.
He said that he has come a long way in Bollywood and has learnt "to balance between artistic films and commercial films.
The actor relished that one role he wishes to play is that of Dilip Kumar from yesteryears movie Mughal-e-Azam. "People underestimate my personality and say that I can only be a villain and do a certain kind of films but I want to do Dilip Sahab's role and show that I can do Royal-type roles too," he said on a lighter note. "I want to be both an actor and a star," he maintained.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
