Remember when Ranveer Singh talked about embracing method acting and getting into a “dark space” for playing the role of Alauddin Khilji in Padmaavat? The actor faced criticism for his statement from actors Jim Sarbh and Prashant Narayanan. Now, Nawazuddin Siddiqui has spoken in favour of Ranveer. He has also called those who criticise an actor without knowing his/her process. In an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, without mentioning any names, Nawazuddin said, “The people who are calling it fake, did they bother to understand the actor’s process? Did they bother to understand how he was living his life when he was creating the character? They are simply judging him. We don’t know what a man is thinking when he’s coming up with a characterisation.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui continued, “When you dive deep into a character, it is a very painful process. This is a very irresponsible thing to say. If there was no process, then what Heath Ledger did in The Dark Knight would not be possible… That man was extremely serious about his performance and that is why he excelled in the character; that’s how iconic characters are born. If we are going to take (the process) casually, then you’ll end up with people just blurting out dialogues randomly. This is what separates a good actor from the rest. You never know which part of his past he is tapping to get into character. You can’t take this so easily.”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui mentioned how actors often push themselves into “uncomfortable spaces” to play characters. He added, “How can you casually say that this is all pretentious? Have you ever tried to play any such character yourself?” When the interviewer disclosed that it was the “main villain of Murder 2” (played by Prashant Narayanan), and Ranveer Singh’s “co-star in Padmaavat” (Jim Sarbh), who spoke against the method acting approach, Nawazuddin Siddiqui hinted that they are not doing anything significant professionally. He asked, “What are they doing now?… And what is the man who commented doing currently?”
Nawazuddin Siddiqui added, “Who are we to say if Ranveer Singh should or should not put himself through a painful process? What if he did? How do we know it? It is very easy to make such comments. We cannot underestimate anyone. This is an actor’s job.”
In case you missed it, in a 2018 interview, Ranveer Singh opened up about locking himself for 21 days and getting into a dark zone for his role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Padmaavat. Speaking to Indian Express, he said, “I took 21 days and locked myself up in my Goregaon house. I was completely isolated.” He added, “I have had some life experiences that were quite dark. I can’t reveal too much because it is too personal but it is the stuff I have brushed under the carpet so to speak. Stuff that I have buried in my conscience, that I had to dig out in order to play this character. And it was not always pretty, which validates my apprehension. I knew how deep I had to go into this rabbit hole. I would have had to go into this dark, black space. This abyss that could be dangerous for me. And it was.” Padmaavat also featured Deepika Padukone and Shahid Kapoor in key roles.
After Ranveer Singh’s statement, his Padmaavat co-star, Jim Sarbh took a dig at him. In an interaction with The Quint, without mentioning Ranveer’s name, he said, “There are all those actors who are like ‘You know, I was so stuck in my character that I had to get mental therapy for weeks after.’ I was like ‘Shut up bro. You didn’t even know your lines on the day, what nonsense.” The video was shared by a fan page on Reddit.
Prashant Narayanan also opposed Ranveer Singh’s statement. In a conversation with Siddharth Kannan, he said, “Woh jhoot bol raha hai. Yeh dark spaces mein jana, yeh sab karna yeh bakwaas ki baatein hai. [He’s lying. All this talk about going into dark spaces and doing such things is nonsense.]”
Ranveer Singh was last seen in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani alongside Alia Bhatt.
