Page 109 - October 2018 converted

rajKumar hirani: never ThoughT nawazuddin

Siddiqui would become Such a huge acTor

ational award-winning filmmaker
Rajkumar Hirani, who worked with
NNawazuddin Siddiqui in the early
days of the actor’s career, says he never
imagined that he would become such a

prominent name in the film industry.
Recalling the time when he worked with
Nawazuddin in the 2003 film Munna Bhai

M.B.B.S, Hirani said here on Wednesday.
“He acted really well and I told him that
‘Nawaz, you are a very good actor’. But in
my head, I never thought that Nawazuddin
Siddiqui would become such a huge actor

that he is today.”
In the film, Nawazuddin played a thief who
pickpocketed from late actor Sunil Dutt’s
Rajkumar Hirani says he never imagined that Nawazuddin Siddiqui would become such a prominent name in the film industry.
character, who in turn saved him from public Nawazuddin played the role of a thief who pickpocketed from late actor Sunil Dutt’s character in Hirani’s Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. .
rage and taught him a life lesson. According
to the filmmaker, the introductory scene of Sunil Dutt was initially not a part of the script but he added it after a suggestion from the film’s
producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Interestingly, the scene was inspired by his real-life incident of a childhood memory of his father. Sharing the story during an interactive

session titled ‘Indian Film and Television Directors’ Association
(IFTDA) Masterclass’, Hirani said, “Once a young man from
Raipur came to my father saying that his money had been stolen

and he needed Rs 2,000 to go back home, and asked if my
father could lend the money. My father gave it to him.
“Later when he came back home in the evening and shared the
story with our uncles, they said that the man is a fraud and that

he goes to people and borrows money telling the same story but
never pays back.”
“My father found out the man and instead of taking him to the
police station or beat him up physically; took him to the Sindhi

Panchayat; which consists of some of the who’s who of our
Sindhi community of the town.
“While they tried to beat him up, my father saved him and said
‘Look, everyone here is stealing something and doing scam in

their business, but they never got caught because they are smart
thieves. Be a smart thief, not an idiot thief that you are’.”
“I applied the same story in that scene,” said the Sanju director.

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