Illustrious Indian filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani said despite recognising his talent he never guessed that Nawazuddin Siddiqui would go on to become such a big star.
In the early days of the actor’s career, Hirani offered him a supporting role as a second thought in his blockbuster movie Munna Bhai MBBS (2003). Nawazuddin played a thief who pickpockets from hero’s father, who in turn still saves him from public fury and teaches him a life lesson.
Reminiscing the time when he offered Nawazuddin the said role in the movie, he said, “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.”
The PK director said this introductory scene was initially not a part of the script but it was later added on suggestion of the film’s producer.
The scene was inspired by real-life incident of Hirani’s father. Sharing the story of his father during an event, he 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,” said the Sanju director.
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He said, “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,” he added.
