Nawazuddin Siddiqui (born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films and streaming series. A former chemist from a small town in Uttar Pradesh, he trained at the National School of Drama and spent more than a decade playing tiny roles before breaking through in 2012 with Kahaani and Gangs of Wasseypur. He is now known for intense, unglamorous characters in films such as The Lunchbox, Raman Raghav 2.0 and Manto, and as Ganesh Gaitonde in Netflix’s Sacred Games.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Nawazuddin Siddiqui |
| Born | 19 May 1974, Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Age | 52 |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Education | Gurukul Kangri University, Haridwar; National School of Drama |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse | Aaliya Siddiqui (m. 2009) |
| Children | 2 |
| Known for | Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Manto, Sacred Games |
Early Life
Nawazuddin was born in Budhana, a small town in Muzaffarnagar district, into a farming family. He was one of nine children. He earned a science degree from Gurukul Kangri University in Haridwar and worked as a chemist in a petrochemical factory in Vadodara. After watching a play in Delhi, he decided to become an actor, joined a theatre group and was admitted to the National School of Drama, graduating in 1996.
Career
Nawazuddin moved to Mumbai and found work only in very small roles. He appeared briefly in Aamir Khan‘s Sarfarosh (1999), as a pickpocket in Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003) and in films such as Black Friday (2004). For years he shared rented flats with other struggling actors and took whatever small parts he could find. His role in Peepli Live (2010) as a local journalist got him noticed by critics.
2012 changed his career. He played a tough intelligence officer in Kahaani, the ambitious gangster Faizal Khan in Anurag Kashyap’s two-part Gangs of Wasseypur, and a small-time crook in Talaash. Together with Dekh Indian Circus, these films won him a Special Jury Award at the National Film Awards. In 2013 he played a cheerful office trainee in The Lunchbox opposite Irrfan Khan.
Nawazuddin went on to play a wide range of characters: a criminal in Badlapur (2015), a Pakistani reporter in Salman Khan‘s Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), the real-life “mountain man” Dashrath Manjhi in Manjhi – The Mountain Man (2015), a serial killer in Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016), the writer Saadat Hasan Manto in Manto (2018) and the politician Bal Thackeray in Thackeray (2019). His role as the gangster Ganesh Gaitonde in Sacred Games (2018–2019) made him popular with a younger, global audience, and his performance in Serious Men (2020) earned him a nomination at the International Emmy Awards.
Personal Life
Nawazuddin married Aaliya Siddiqui in 2009. The couple have two children, a daughter and a son. Their marital differences became public in 2023. He has spoken often about the discrimination he faced in the film industry because of his looks and background.
Awards and Honours
Selected Filmography
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Nawazuddin Siddiqui born?
Nawazuddin Siddiqui was born on 19 May 1974 in Budhana, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 52 years old.
What is Nawazuddin Siddiqui known for?
Known for: Gangs of Wasseypur, The Lunchbox, Manto, Sacred Games.
Featured image: Nawazuddin Siddiqui on the green carpet at the IIFA Awards, New York, 15 July 2017. Photo by Laura Lee Dooley, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
