Bollywood Hungama Style Icons Summit and Awards 2026: Nawazuddin Siddiqui recalls spending six years doing one-scene roles before demanding bigger parts
Success stories in Bollywood often focus on the breakthrough moment. For Nawazuddin Siddiqui, however, the journey was built on patience, persistence and the willingness to keep moving forward, even when opportunities were limited.
In an exclusive conversation with Himesh Mankad at the Bollywood Hungama Style Icon Awards 2026, the actor looked back on his early years in the industry. He revealed that he never arrived in Mumbai with dreams of instant fame. Instead, his only goal was to continue acting, no matter how small the role.
“I never came with the dream of becoming an established actor”
When asked about the fear of not making it in the industry, Nawazuddin explained that disappointment often comes when people chase a fixed destination. He said, “If you come with big dreams and keep pursuing the idea of becoming an established actor, it becomes very difficult when things don’t happen. But I’m saying this because I never came with those dreams. My only thought was that I would keep acting. That’s all I wanted, and that was happening. So I was okay with it.”
From television rejection to one-scene film roles
Nawazuddin shared that his journey into films happened only after television opportunities failed to materialise. He recalled, “When I couldn’t find work in television serials, I started getting small roles in films. What else could I do? If I wasn’t getting work there, I had to go somewhere else. So I began taking whatever small parts came my way.”
Those roles were often limited to a single scene: “In the beginning, I kept getting one-scene roles. I think I did one-scene parts for about five or six years. I had become known for that. If someone needed an actor for just one scene in a film, they would say, ‘Call Nawaz.’ That became my identity.”
The day Nawazuddin decided to ask for more
After spending several years being recognised for one-scene appearances, Nawazuddin realised it was time to challenge himself: “After six or seven years, I realised that I should be doing two scenes now. So I started demanding two-scene roles. Whenever someone came to me with a one-scene part, I would say, ‘I won’t do one scene anymore. I’ll do two scenes.’”
His strategy worked, and filmmakers gradually began offering him larger parts. He quipped, “Then I started getting two-scene roles. After that, I became a little more ambitious. I thought, ‘Now I should do three scenes.’”
Looking back, Nawazuddin revealed that this gradual progression was anything but quick: “It took around 12 years.”
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