How Nawazuddin Siddiqui helped Ranveer Singh find his footing before Band Baaja Baaraat

Bollywood heavyweight Nawazuddin Siddiqui, whose credits include The Lunchbox and Gangs of Wasseypur, among others, has racked up yet another accomplishment—becoming an acting coach—to his already impressive resume.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui on training Ranveer Singh for his debut

Siddiqui, in an interview with Pinkvilla, revealed some lesser-known facts about his career in cinema, including an unexpected backstory regarding the early days of Ranveer Singh. Siddiqui was an important figure in Singh's development as an actor before his breakthrough film Band Baaja Baaraat (2010) catapulted him to stardom.

The actor said that in a way, he had become the "workshop guy" because he trained Singh for Band Baaja Baarat. In the past, Siddiqui has promised to be an ally to anyone who wishes to break into the acting industry, he added during the interview. The actor doesn't think one teaches acting, even if he was at the workshop; he has his own abilities. Ultimately, the individual must do it themselves; he only showed how to apply that knowledge.

While considering the significance of acting workshops and institutes, Siddiqui commented that places like NSD have a giant part to play in whatever their industry is today, and all realistic movies have actors who have come from these institutions.

Meanwhile, the powerhouse is known for his terrific performances in Badlapur, Raman Raghav 2.0, and the recent one, Haddi.

Initial scepticism surrounding Ranveer Singh's debut

At first, even prominent Bollywood individuals were sceptical of Singh's casting in Band Baaja Baaraat. Karan Johar expressed his reservations regarding the actor's first film in a previous Koffee With Karan episode.

The filmmaker recalled a memory in which he mentioned having lunch plans with Yash Chopra. They were playing table tennis, so to speak. It was brought to Johar's attention by Aditya Chopra that one of those lads is actually the one who stars in Band Baaja Baaraat and not AD. He asked, "Who?"

Johar told them they had to replace the poster since I saw it. He reflected inwardly that he felt hopeless. Since Aditya no longer contacts him for previews, he has no intention of seeing this film. However, after seeing the film, Karan was like, "Oh my god. He’s a movie star."

The unexpected success of Band Baaja Baaraat catapulted Singh to popularity and set the stage for a prosperous career, despite early scepticism. Meanwhile, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (released in 2023) was the most recent collaboration between Singh and Johar; it also featured Alia Bhatt, Dharmendra, Jaya Bachchan, and Shabana Azmi.

Siddiqui recently appeared in Costao, which is available for streaming on ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium).