Nawazuddin Siddiqui accepts he has difficulty with English, but can have hours-long conversations with foreign women: ‘They don’t judge’

Nawazuddin Siddiqui said that overseas, people don't judge him for not being fluent in English. The actor appeared as a guest on Shehnaaz Gill's talk show.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | Updated: May 23, 2023 04:01 PM IST

2 min read

Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Shehnaaz Gill have both addressed their lack of English-speaking skills.

Listen to this article

Your browser does not support the audio element.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui admitted that English isn’t his strongest language, but said that he is only judged for it in India. People abroad don’t care if he knows English or not. Nawaz appeared as a guest on Shehnaaz Gill’s talk show Desi Vibes. Shehnaaz herself has spoken about her lack of English-speaking skills in the past.

When she asked Nawaz if he still has difficulty with English, he said, “Haan, lekin jab main bahar jaata hoon na, ladki ke saath teen-teen chaar-chaar ghante tak baat kar leta hoon, English mein. Woh log kya hain na, judge nahi karte (Yes, I do, but when I go abroad, I can have conversations with women for three-four hours in English. You see, those people don’t judge).” He said that he has recently shot an English-language film, and proceeded to deliver a complicated line that he had memorised.

Also read | Nawazuddin Siddiqui recalls when Salman Khan told him the difference between a star and an actor, using a metaphor: ‘When an actor threads a needle…’

In the past, Nawaz has said that even though his English isn’t as fluent as others’, he still has a better understanding of foreign-language cinema than most. “I may not always understand what they’re saying, but I believe I understand the movies way better than most people who understand and speak English,” he said on IMDb’s The Insider’s Watchlist.

More recently, at the Times Now Navbharat India Economic Conclave last year, he mocked English-speaking actors for attempting Hindi-language films. “They are making gangster shows, but casting English-speaking actors in them, even the directors and assistants are speaking in English while making Hindi films. It affects the performance,” he said.

Kangana Ranaut, the producer of Nawaz’s upcoming film Tiku Weds Sheru, has also spoken about how ostracised she felt because she didn’t speak English fluently when she first joined the film industry. “I do not find anything embarrassing about my born existence. People tried to shame me, coming from small town, not being able to speak English, not being able to dress up properly,” she told PTI some years ago.

From the homepage