Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui recently remarked that late actors Irrfan Khan and Om Puri didn’t receive the recognition they deserved during their lifetimes. He noted that audiences and filmmakers truly appreciated their talent only after their passing.
In an interview wth Pinkvilla, Nawazuddin said, “Actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Pankaj Kapur, Manoj Bajpayee and Irrfan are all the greatest actors of our country. But I am saddened by the fact that no one decided to make a big-budget film with them; no one thought of it. Even though people used to go crazy to watch them, their cinema never reached the people.”
“We often hear that there are two kinds of actors; one is for the public and one is for the industry, but in this case the public’s actor is not reaching them, and the industry’s actor is seen everywhere,” added the actor.
When asked about his legacy and how he would like to be remembered, Nawazuddin Siddiqui brushed off the question, saying, “It doesn’t matter what happens once I am gone.” He reaffirmed his earlier comments about his late co-stars, emphasizing that it’s more important to honour and respect actors while they are still alive. “Often we see people realising an actor’s skill and worth after they are gone; you didn’t pay attention when they were alive, and now you want to appreciate them. It is a harsh truth, because today people talk about Irrfan Bhai, but did any one of them make a Rs 25 crore film with him?
“You look at the performances a person like Om Puri has given; he used to become the character. In the film Wolf, he shared a scene with Jack Nicholson, and in that moment, it seemed as if Nicholson was nowhere near him in terms of acting. We don’t give our actors the love and respect they deserve, and look at the way he left us all,” concluded Nawaz.
