Kangana Ranaut Has Guts To Speak Out On Issues In Bollywood, Says Nawazuddin Siddiqui | Exclusive

Kangana Ranaut often makes headlines for her outspoken nature and brazen statements. The actor-filmmaker has never shied away from sharing strong opinions on the dark side of the Hindi film industry, particularly pertaining to the privilege star-kids enjoy and the struggles outsiders like her go through in the process of making a name for themselves. In fact, she kicked off the nepotism debate in Bollywood when she appeared on filmmaker Karan Johar’s chat show, Koffee With Karan, in 2017 and referred to Karan as the ‘flag-bearer of nepotism’ and ‘movie mafia’.

Recently, Kangana turned producer with the Amazon Prime Video film, Tiku Weds Sheru, which stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Avneet Kaur. At its trailer launch, Kangana stated that launching her banner, Manikarnika Films, was a strategic move to provide a platform for outsiders to showcase their talents. And now, in an exclusive chat with News18, Nawazuddin lauds Kangana’s prowess for being the only actor to call out and shed light on the flip side of show business.

Talking about it, he says, “Kangana is very transparent and honest when it comes to calling out issues in the film industry. Most people say things that are politically correct but she has a lot of courage.” He points out that there are many who prefer to turn a deaf year and accept the underbelly of Bollywood but appreciates Kangana for starting a conversation that was long due. “Kangana is the only person who has the courage to speak about the things that she does and they are absolutely on-point. Many feel that truth is bitter and there’s no doubt about the same. How many people have the guts to talk about the issues in our industry? Kangana is wonderful,” he elaborates.

Nawazuddin further praises Kangana’s stint as a producer as he remarks, “She would come to the sets and we would rehearse our scenes with her. The fact that she’s an amazing actor helped us improvise nuances and scenes.”

A post shared by Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@nawazuddin._siddiqui)

Interestingly, Tiku Weds Sheru sees him playing a junior artist hustling to achieve his dreams in the city of Mumbai. Nawazuddin, who began his career with blink-and-miss appearances in Hindi films, tells us that the shooting for the film took him back to his days as a struggling actor. But he’s quick to add that his struggles fuelled his ambitions rather than killing them.

“The fact that I worked very hard to become an actor hasn’t filled me up with bitterness. In fact, I feel happy that I worked so hard. I’ve been a hard-worker right since the very beginning. I used to do farming and I toiled hard in the fields too. I continue to work hard till this date much like a farmer. I find joy in it,” says the actor, who will next be seen in Haddi, Laxman Lopez, Saindhav and Noorani Chehra.

Having collaborated with Kangana as a producer, Nawazuddin now wishes to share screen space with her soon. Speaking about it, he shares, “We never got an offer to work together as co-stars but I hope to work with her on a film very soon and I wish for it to be a love story.”