Nawazuddin Siddiqui says personal life issues with ex wife Aaliya didn't affect career: People respect me as an actor

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui opens up on personal life battles being mentally draining.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui agrees when we mention his voice sounds relaxed during this conversation, relieved almost. After all, apart from professional success in the form of Haddi, he also saw his legal battle with ex wife Aaliya reaching an amicable stage in 2023.

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui was recently seen in the film Haddi.

“Main bilkul relaxed hoon,” he says as we begin talking. Aren’t personal battles mentally draining?

“Definitely hote hain. Maine iss cheez ke baare mein baat ki hi nahi, aur na hi baat karna chahta hoon. Toh isse better hai silent hi raho, zyaada achha hai. Kya keh sakte hain?,” he replies.

Does one's professional space get affected by things happening in an actor’s life? “Nahi, career pe koi farak nahi padhta hai. Aaj kal log samajhdaar hain, unhe pata hota hai kya cheez chal rahi hai. Itna zyaada fark nahi padhta. I don’t think it affected my career. People still respect me the same way as an actor, I don’t sense any lack. In fact, I have become more focused on my work,” shares the 49-year-old, who is currently filming for his next film Section 108.

He rubbishes all speculations about the eventual medium of release for it. “It will be a theatrical release,” he confirms.

His last release meanwhile, Haddi, saw him playing the role of a transgender, and fetched him good reviews. Siddiqui claims it was very difficult for him, “No doubt it was a difficult character because of the complexity. Character pe kaam karna padh raha tha, taaki aisa na lage ki transgender ka character hai toh bas costume pehen li toh ho gaya. Jo uska thought process hai usko explore karna tha. Haddi ke baad performance ko toh appreciate kiya. Ultimately, jo soch samajh ke mehnat ki jaati hai voh kaam aati hai at the end of the day.”