Nawazuddin Siddiqui says he faces caste discrimination in his village: ‘The fact that I am famous doesn’t matter to them, it is in their veins’

Actor Nawazuddin Siddqui has opened up on the discrimination that he faces in his village because of his caste , adding that his stardom and being famous does not make any difference to those who discriminate. Nawazuddin has been staying in his native village ever since he went there a few months ago during the nationwide lockdown that was imposed in wake of the global coronavirus pandemic.

Nawazuddin told NDTV in an interview, “In my own family, my grandmother was from a lower caste. Even today, they have not accepted us because of my grandmother.”

He added, “The fact that I am famous doesn’t matter to them. It is deeply entrenched within them...it is in their veins. They consider it their pride. The Sheikh Siddiquis are the upper caste, and they will not have anything to do with those they consider beneath them. Even today it is there. It is very difficult.”

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Nawazuddin is currently seen playing a devious Dalit man in Sudhir Mishra’s film Serious Men. Based on Manu Joseph’s book by the same name, the film is about a wily slum dweller who cons the country into believing his 10-year-old son is a genius, only to realise that the only victim of his dangerous game is his son. Hindustan Times’ review for the film said, “As wickedly funny as the film is, and as perversely enjoyable Ayyan’s schemes are to watch, Serious Men would not have worked if there had not been a collective rage directed at the establishment. It’s a movie that captures what it is like to live in India, circa 2020. It’s a time capsule that, like so many satirical movies that were released in the post-Emergency era, captures the mood of the nation.”

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