MOVIES

The real Cannes star: Nawazuddin Siddiqui

By Jahnavi Patel
May 25, 2017

While the media has gone into overdrive over the red carpet appearances of Bollywood A-listers in Cannes, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been quietly building a legacy -- 8 films in Cannes in just 4 years.
When the celebrated actor returned to Cannes this year to release the first look of his upcoming Manto, Jahnavi Patel revisited the Cannes journey we should have been talking about.

Manto (2017)

IMAGE: Manto, a first look.

2017 marked Nawazuddin Siddiqui's fifth Cannes Film Festival outing.

He was there to release the first look of his next film, Nandita Das's Manto.

Manto is a biographical drama on the life of iconic Urdu writer Sadat Hassan Manto. Nawaz was accompanied by Das and and actress Rasika Duggal, who play's Manto's wife in the movie.


Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016)

IMAGE: Team Raman Raghav 2.0 - from right, Anurag Kashyap, Vicky Kaushal and Nawaz -- in conversation with journalist Anupama Chopra. Photograph: Vicky Kaushal/Twitter

Anurag Kashyap's Raman Raghav 2.0 premiered at the 69th Cannes International Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section.

The thriller based on the true story of a notorious serial killer starred Nawaz, Vicky Kaushal, Amruta Subhash, Shobhita Dhulipala and Anuschka Sawhney.


Miyan Kal Aana (2015)

IMAGE: A scene from Miyan Kal Aaana.

The 17-minute short film produced by Nawaz was a part of the Short Film Corner category.

It was a debut for the actor's younger brother Shamas Siddiqui.


The Lunchbox, Monsoon Shootout, Bombay Talkies (2013)

IMAGE: The Lunchbox team's moment in the spotlight. Photograph: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

A particularly stellar year for Nawaz.

The world fell in love with The Lunchbox, which saw him starring with Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur.

The Ritesh Batra directed movie was screened as a part of the International Critics Week, where it not only received a standing ovation but also won the Critics Week Viewers Choice Award.

IMAGE: At the Monsoon Shootout premiere. Photograph: Stuart C Wilson/Getty Images

Nawaz's Monsoon Shootout -- with actors Tannishtha Chatterjee and Vijay Verma -- was screened in the Midnight Screening section.

The film helmed by Amit Kumar and produced by Guneet Monga pleased critics.

IMAGE: Ashi Dua, Zoya Akhtar, Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar and Dibakar Banerjee at Cannes.

Nawaz was also part of Bombay Talkies, an anthology consisting of four short films directed by Anurag Kashyap, Karan Johar, Zoya Akhtar and Dibakar Banerjee.

He was part of Dibakar's Star, an adaption of Satyajit Ray's short film Patol Babu, Film Star.


Gangs of Wasseypur, Miss Lovely (2012)

IMAGE: You can take the gangs out of Wasseypur, but you can't take Wasseypur out of the gang.

2012 marked Nawaz's debut year at Cannes.

Both Gangs of Wasseypur 1 and 2 were screened under the Directors' Fortnight section. The screening of the film went houseful and received positive reviews.

Directed by Anurag Kashyap, the film starred Nawaz, Richa Chadha, Huma Qureshi, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Piyush Mishra and Pankaj Tripathi.

IMAGE: From right, Nawaz, Anil George, Niharika Singh and director Ashim Ahluwalia at the Miss Lovely photocall during the 65th Cannes Film Festival. Photograph: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Miss Lovely, which is set in the lower depths of India's C-grade film industry, was screened in the Un Certain Regard section.

Nawaz starred with Niharika Singh and Anil George in the Ashim Ahluwalia film.

Jahnavi Patel / Rediff.com

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