Nawazuddin Siddiqui confirms Raat Akeli Hai 2, reunites with director Honey Trehan: 'He sets up difficult tasks for you'

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays a cop in Raat Akeli Hai 2, informs us, “We have been shooting for it over the last two months. We have five more days of shoot left"

Nawazuddin Siddiqui is currently consumed by the world created by filmmaker Honey Trehan. Five years after their maiden collaboration, Raat Akeli Hai, the duo is reuniting for the sequel of the thriller drama. The actor, who plays a cop in the film, informs us, “We have been shooting for it over the last two months. We have five more days of shoot left.” 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Radhika Apte in Raat Akeli Hai

Taking a day out from the shoot to attend the second edition of the Cinevesture International Film Festival, Siddiqui shares the challenges of being part of Trehan’s film. “You can’t enjoy [yourself] in a Honey Trehan film,” he quips, adding, “He sets up difficult tasks for you. However, if you are able to do it, you leave the audience mighty impressed. Honey deliberately adds new dimensions to the characters in the script without telling you. That’s his process. It is such a wonderful discovery for an actor,” Siddiqui smiles.

Honey Trehan

While he is thrilled with the opportunities of diverse characters coming his way, he laments at the current state of Hindi cinema. The actor has realised that post the pandemic, the audience’s taste in movies has completely changed. “It saddens me. It feels like we have regressed. Before the pandemic, small and medium-budget films were at least releasing in theatres and people were stepping out to watch them. Now, only lavishly-mounted films have space on the big screen. It’s a big loss for medium-budget films,” he says, adding that the box office collection has become a huge pull for the audience to give a film a chance. He recounts that this was not a practice before. “If someone said, ‘That actor gave a terrific performance,’ we all would be compelled to go and watch the film because we were curious about performances,” he explains. Siddiqui, who has grown up watching films, including Ek Doctor Ki Maut (1990), Sparsh (1980) and Ardh Satya (1983), feels that ever since people have begun consuming content on mobile screens, the impact an in-depth performance brings is lost. “I might be wrong but I believe you won’t understand [in-depth] acting today even on the big screen because it’s lost in event films,” he expresses.

Juggling films

Besides Raat Akeli Hai, Nawazuddin Siddiqui is also shooting for Costao, based on the life of customs officer Costao Fernandez, produced by Bhanushali Studios. “It’s the story of a customs officer and what all he goes through. It’s a human drama,” he shares.

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