In fact, Siddiqui was also initially apprehensive about signing Mom but that had more to do with the fact that he was nervous about working with veteran actress Sridevi.
“Initially, I was nervous about working with Sridevi ji, but her kindness made it easy,” he told Mid Day. “She reacts perfectly and puts you at ease. She is a great actor and extremely humble. That shows her class and what she has achieved. I have learnt a lot of things from her.”
Though Siddiqui is a fan of the veteran actress, she wasn’t the only reason why he signed the film. A big motivation for Siddiqui was the presence of actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui who also features in the movie.
“Though I have no scenes with him, I can at least put on my resume that I have worked with him,” he noted.
Siddiqui has time and again proved his mettle as a versatile actor and though a chunk of his work has been limited to local television serials, the actor was also seen in a small role in Angelina Jolie’s A Mighty Heart. One can argue that his role in the Hollywood venture was also small in what was essentially a female-oriented film; it seems it’s the significance of it that matters most to Siddiqui.
“While I am of the same age as the Khans, they are still not my contemporaries. It would be stupid to think that I will get a role like they do. I am creating space like Irrfan, Kay Kay Menon or Manoj Bajpayee and a few other character actors,” he asserted. “If I think I can do what Shah Rukh Khan does here or, for that matter, what Fawad does in Pakistan, it will be stupid. You have to be aware of where you stand.”
