Nawazuddin Siddiqui says indie cinema’s isolation is ‘dangerous’: ‘All We Imagine As Light was wiped out of theatres in 4 days’

“It’s better if it takes effort,” Siddiqui tells SCREEN in an exclusive interview. “The basic spine is the same. But if you go into it thinking that doing it again would be a cakewalk, then there are more chances of it going wrong. Because you’ve taken it for granted. But if it’s a new film, it’s a new beginning that you have to take. Of course, the core is the same. But it’s a new, different, and layered case that also deals with class disparities,” he adds.

Interestingly, both parts of Raat Akeli Hai are written by Smita Singh, who also co-wrote Sacred Games. “There’s no similarity at all. And that’s what’s special about Smita. Her dialogues are also very easy to remember. So an actor doesn’t have to try too hard to remember the dialogues because there’s a rhythm to them. There’s also a connection of every line to another. Once you learn the dialogues, they’re a lot of fun to mouth because of that connection and rhythm,” Siddiqui points out.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders.

Powerhouse performers

Like the first part, Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders also boasts of an ensemble cast. Along with Radhika Apte and Ila Arun reprising their roles of Jatil’s love interest and mother respectively, new additions include Chitrangada Singh, Rajat Kapoor, Sanjay Kapoor, Revathy, and Deepti Naval. Siddiqui admits he was on his toes working with the two seasoned female actors.

“I used to see Revathy ma’am’s performance get more real take by take. When I observed her act, there were some characteristics that she added which weren’t there in the script. So, it felt strange initially in the first and second take. But in the later takes, it felt she’s not Revathy, but someone else. So, it was a great learning curve for me,” recalls Siddiqui.

He was all praise for Trehan, who’s also been a casting director, for roping in “Miss Chamko” Deepti Naval against type as a scheming spiritual guru. “Deepti ji is Guruma (laughs). What can I say about her? She says everything with so much love: ‘Nawaz, iski gardan kaat do.’ It used to be so haunting,” says Siddiqui in a soft voice while signalling the slashing of his throat.

Indie films’ crisis

Siddiqui, also a champion of independent cinema, laments the crisis indie films are going through in the country, particularly after Kanu Behl’s critically acclaimed Agra wasn’t given enough screens last month because it clashed with a more mainstream movie in Ajay Devgn-starrer romantic comedy De De Pyaar De 2. Siddiqui pines for the return of the years when streaming had just entered India and indie films at least had a bankable home.

“One can only hope that time comes back. There are only a few films that have kept cinema alive,” argues Siddiqui, adding, “To those who say films have to be commercially viable, that’s not necessary. If I go to a restaurant whose food I love, whether they market it or not, I’ll still go there no matter how far it is because I have the taste. If the food is not good, no matter how much marketing you do, it won’t work. Cinema should not be dependent on marketing.”

He lauds independent cinema for giving India recognition in the international film circles. “For instance, Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine As Light (2024) was in the Competition section at Cannes Film Festival after a long time. It also won an award. We can’t imagine how many people around the world would’ve watched it. But once it released in India, it was thrown out of theatres after four days! The audience already knows about it, but at least it should get its fair place in the sun,” says Siddiqui, dubbing this practice of sidelining indie films “dangerous”.

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He adds independent cinema can also be aspirational in nature, given the current crop of mainstream cinema is only dumbing the audience down. “Not all audience members are dumb. The dumbest of dumb, including someone like me, wants to progress. I’ve developed a lethargy within me watching the commercial stuff. So, even I want to remove those cobwebs from my eyes and watch something using my brains,” says Siddiqui.