Nawazuddin Siddiqui says 'pure art...never been made for the masses'
What's the story
Acclaimed actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui recently spoke about the challenges faced by independent cinema in India. In an interview with PTI, he expressed his concern over the lack of visibility and box office success for indie films, which struggle to compete with mainstream commercial entertainers. He also emphasized the need to preserve independent cinema in India.
Mass vs indie
'If you want to do it for the masses...'
Siddiqui, who has successfully balanced small films with mainstream hits such as Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Raees, compared indie films to classical art forms. "If you want to do it for the masses and if you want to do it in an artistic way, then that is a different thing." "If you want to do it for the masses...then you have to include certain things in it, but the pure art and classical things have never been made for the masses."
Indie cinema
'I think it will be very bad if...'
Siddiqui, who has been a proponent of independent cinema for over a decade, said, "I'll keep doing independent cinema." "It is very important to balance it with a certain kind of mass film." "I think it will be very bad if it happens (independent cinema fizzles out). I think it should continue to be made... It is said that our classical forms, be it songs, dance, etc., have never been popular, it's only because a few people can understand them."
Visibility
'More people started to know about me...'
Siddiqui also acknowledged that doing mainstream movies gives him greater visibility, which in turn benefits his independent projects. He said, "The biggest advantage of big films is that more people see you, so when you see small films and if we get even five percent of the audience, then that's the biggest benefit." "More people started to know about me with these films. The thing is that most of the independent films are released on a smaller level."
Current project
Meanwhile, catch Siddiqui in 'Thamma'
Siddiqui is currently receiving praise for his performance in the horror-comedy Thamma. The film, directed by Aditya Sarpotdar and part of the Maddock Horror Comedy Universe, also stars Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna. It has been doing well at the box office, raking in ₹90 crore worldwide in just four days since its Diwali release, per Sacnilk.