Nawazuddin Siddiqui says actors who dance at weddings are ‘bhands’ by nature, confesses he’d dance too if he could

Nawazuddin Siddiqui said that Shah Rukh Khan made sure that he had enough time to rehearse their scenes together in the film Raees.

By: Entertainment Desk

New Delhi | May 9, 2025 12:07 PM IST

3 min read

Nawazuddin Siddiqui made a cameo in Dev D.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui said that he was quite surprised when the song “Emotional Atyachaar” became a rage following the release of Dev D, because he didn’t have the most pleasant experience shooting it on set. He admitted that he doesn’t have a problem with his fellow Bollywood actors dancing at private events for hefty sums of money, and that’d do the same thing if he could. Nawaz explained in a new interview that artists are essentially like ‘bhands (folk entertainers)’ who would be considered unfit for polite society in the past.

Appearing on the All About Eve YouTube channel, Nawaz was asked if he’d dance at a wedding if we could, and he replied, “Yes, why not? What’s wrong with it? It’s a part of our profession; people complain that actors dance at weddings, but what’s the problem? At the end of the day, we are all ‘bhands’. Did you know that in the past, ‘bhands’ wouldn’t be allowed to mingle in polite society? They were seen as unfit; they were seen as people who didn’t have any ideologies or beliefs, bad influences. They were kept in tents outside villages. They would only be allowed to enter to perform, and then they’d be sent right back out.”

Also read – Bollywood is insecure, creatively bankrupt, steals ideas from South, says Nawazuddin Siddiqui: ‘Anurag Kashyap was forced to quit’

Nawaz said that it’s only because actors are now rich and cultured that they feel like they’re a part of regular society. But in their heart of hearts, they are outsiders trying to fit in. “They feel upset when people question them for dancing at weddings, but the ‘bhandgiri’ continues,” he said.

In an appearance on Koffee with Karan, actors Ranveer Singh and Akshay Kumar spoke about performing at private functions, and not feeling ashamed of it. Referring to Ranveer, Akshay said, “This man is the last person to leave weddings. The wedding is over, the bride and groom want to go for their ‘suhagraat’, but they can’t because Ranveer is still dancing. And by the time he’s ready to leave at 5 am, they’re too tired to do anything. Living with this man is… Hats off to Deepika.” Ranveer replied by saying that he learned to leverage these avenues of income from Akshay. “Who taught me this? Sir. He said, ‘Yeh dekh, I don’t like to see money getting wasted. Shaadi hai, main naach raha hoon; birthday hai, main naach raha hoon; mundan hai, bachcha ro raha hai, main naach raha hoon’.”

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