Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who as of late scored an International EMMY nomination for his performance in Sudhir Mishra’s Serious Men, has said that more than nepotism, the film entertainment world has a racism problem.
Nawaz was talking about his co-star in the film, Indira Tiwari, whom he expects will get another lead role after Serious Men. That, he said, will be the real victory.
He opens up to Bollywood Hungama in Hindi and said, “Sudhir saab has immense knowledge about cinema, and his thought process is very practical. He cast her as the heroine, and I can guarantee you that there is so much racism in our industry, I will be very happy if she is cast as the lead again. Sudhir Mishra did it, but what about the head honchos in charge? More than nepotism, we have a racism problem.”
He added, “I fought against it for many years, and I hope that dark-skinned actresses are made heroines; it’s very important. I’m not even talking about skin colour; there is a bias that exists in the industry which needs to end for better films to be made… I was rejected for many years only because I’m short and I look a certain way, although I can’t complain now. But, so many other great actors fall prey to this kind of bias.”
Nawaz, who nailed his performance in Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur Part II, has turned into a perfect fit for Indian streaming, having appeared in projects like Sacred Games and Raat Akeli Hai, Serious Men. Sacred Games was also nominated for an International EMMY.
