Nawazuddin Siddiqui has always prided himself on going above and beyond to ensure he is doing justice to his craft, a principle recently recognised by the Emmys with a nomination.

He has also never been one to soften his words while expressing his resentment at the way the industry functions.

Most recently, the actor has opened up, in an interview with Bollywood Hungama, about his experience with colourism and racism in the industry.

Beginning with an example, Siddiqui mentioned his co-star, Indira Tiwari, from the Emmy-nominated, 2020 film, Serious Men. The female lead played his wife in the movie.

“Sudhir saab has immense knowledge about cinema, and his thought process is very practical. He cast her as the heroine, and I can guarantee you that there is so much racism in our industry, I will be very happy if she is cast as the lead again. Sudhir Mishra did it, but what about the head honchos in charge? More than nepotism, we have a racism problem,” he told the media channel.

He then went on to describe his own ordeal with similar experiences throughout his time in the industry; “I fought against it for many years, and I hope that dark-skinned actresses are made heroines. It’s very important. I’m not even talking about skin colour. There is a bias that exists in the industry which needs to end for better films to be made. I was rejected for many years only because I’m short and I look a certain way, although I can’t complain now. But there are so many other great actors who fall prey to this kind of bias.”

Serious Men is a tale of an ambitious yet mediocre middle-class man trying to capitalise on the genius of his son.

The Gangs of Wasseypur fame can be expected in many a movie soon, the movies being Bole Chudiyan, Jogira Sara Ra Ra, Heropanti 2, No Land’s Man and Raat Akeli Hai, among others.

Also Read; Nawazuddin Siddiqui Tags Actors As ‘Insecure’ For Changing Their Names