Nawazuddin Siddiqui says Anurag Kashyap scolded him on first day of Gangs of Wasseypur: ‘I couldn’t sleep all night’

On the first day of Gangs of Wasseypur shoot, Nawazuddin Siddiqui said, 'Main pura Al Pacino banke gaya.'

Mumbai | June 26, 2023 12:47 PM IST

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Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui spoke about the first day of Gangs of Wasseypur sets. (Photo: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap/Instagram)

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Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui says he was so inspired by Hollywood legends Robert De Niro and Al Pacino that when he bagged his big breakthrough Gangs of Wasseypur, he started behaving like the former star. Nawazuddin said during his training days he used to even “sleep” like the duo.

In an interview with Mashable India, Nawazuddin said he was in that phase for 3-4 months, during which time his teacher had also advised him not to do it. So, on the first day of Gangs Of Wasseypur shoot, Nawazuddin said, “Main pura Al Pacino banke gaya (I went like Al Pacino). I would even speak like him.”

Also Read | Nawazuddin Siddiqui reveals the ‘permission’ scene in Gangs of Wasseypur was inspired from his life: ‘I’d taken a girl to the park’

But filmmaker Anurag Kashyap was not happy with the actor’s turn and “scolded” him for imitating Al Pacino. ”Anurag (Kashyap) scolded me a lot at night. He told me, ‘You’re behaving too much like Al Pacino’. So I threw the entire façade away over night and I couldn’t sleep all night. When I went there the morning next day, I went purely as Nawaz,” he added.

The actor said he realised that he cannot “play” a powerful person, he just has to be himself and channel that energy, which would translate authentically on screen. “You don’t get powers just by playing it. For example, Anurag used to say, ‘You have 25 people standing behind you so you don’t have to play power. Just be normal and you’d look dangerous,”’ he said.

Nawazuddin currently stars in the Prime Video film Tiku Weds Sheru. The actor has had consecutive releases this year with films like Jogira Sara Ra Ra and Sudhir Mishra’s Afwaah.

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