Amazon Studios Influencers Photograph A slice of life film based on a struggling street photographer and a CA student. We associated with Humans of Bombay to put out the struggle stories of our lead star cast – Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Sanya Malhotra. View this post on Instagram #PhotographPhotoWalk Delhi šø #PhotographMovie @shweta.malhotra03 A post shared by Photograph (@photographamzn) on Mar 10, 2019 at 7:57am PDT View this post on Instagram āI grew up in a small town in UP. I come from a family of farm workers; we were 11 peopleāmy parents & my 9 siblings. I was the oldest, so it fell upon me to take care of them. I made them follow a time table & do their homework. If they were mischievous Iād shout at themāof course, I was the naughtiest! In fact during Diwali, my friends & I would steal diyas! Our family would watch Ram Leela togetherāmy first encounter with acting. My friend played Ram & seeing him left me starstruck! I imagined playing the role myself! After college, I worked in Baroda. There, I watched a play for the first time & the thought of being an actor became a dream. So I went where everybody with a dream of acting goesāBombay. My parents, who were uneducated, supported me. They said I could do anything as long as I worked hard. My first impression of Bombay was how fast it was. It took me a month to get used to the pace of lifeāI thought Iād never be able to match up! But slowly I joined the rat race. I wasnāt well off. Iād borrow money from friends, saying Iād return it in 2 days. Two days later, Iād borrow money from someone else and pay the first person back. I lived in a flat with 4 peopleāit was about survival. But my family had my back. They told me to not give up! My mom didnāt have a mobile, so sheād send me letters & they got me through some really tough times. Sheād tell me not to worry & remind me that I was only human & doing my best. So thatās what I did. I did odd jobsāas a watchman, or a coriander seller. I went for a 100 auditions & took every role I got, no matter how small. It took 12 years to get a ābreakthroughā. It wasnāt easyāthe struggle wasnāt beautiful, it was just a struggle. But I did it. I went from a tiny role in Munnabhai to winning a Filmfare for Lunchbox. I went from being unrecognised in Sarfarosh to being known as Ganesh Gaitonde across the nation. I went from being a watchman to becoming the āwatch meā man & Iām nowhere near being done, so keep watchingāIām here to stay!ā ---- HoB with the makers of #PhotographMovie bring to you the story of Nawazuddin Siddiqui; an ordinary man with an extraordinary journey. A post shared by Humans of Bombay (@officialhumansofbombay) on Mar 14, 2019 at 6:01am PDT View this post on Instagram āI was that kid who danced at every wedding. I didnāt need any kind of incentiveājust music! My parents would take me to all the family weddings, because they knew Iād dance my heart out. I loved it so much! I even danced in competitions & when I got to college I was a part of the Choreography Society. Weād spend 8 hours dancing every day! I was so passionateābut my real dream was to act. I never revealed this to anyone back home. I thought Iād be laughed at or ridiculed. After all, itās a big dream. But I thought maybe, I could get to acting through dancing! So I applied for Dance India Dance & got to the top 100. But I got rejected because my backstory wasnāt strong. Thatās when I thought maybe I wasnāt meant to perform at all. That show may have rejected me, but itās what got me to Bombay. I owed it to myself to at least try. So I told my dad about acting. To my surprise, he was supportive! So I began auditioning. But it was hardāI lived with 6 roommates & there were days when theyād all go out to work & Iād be sitting at home. It was demotivating & I often felt like leaving. But I reminded myself of my dream to perform. Slowly, I learnt the ropes of the business, got in touch with casting directors & acted in ads. There were still months when I didnāt get a call back, & I worried about my dwindling bank balance. But I kept going & ended up doing 10 ads in a year! I built my self-esteem & promised to never doubt myself. Eventually, I got my first auditionāDangal! I remember, I was against 30 other girls, but I just knew Iād be selected. Someone was taking a BTS video & I remember telling her, āIām pakka in this film!ā I was that confident! And I got the role! Iāll never forget that feeling that everything had finally been worth it. Iād loved performing ever since I was a kid & now here I wasāon the big screen. Ever since, Iāve relished every single role Iāve done. While I donāt doubt myself anymore, I know Iām still learning. Nobodyās perfect, but that doesnāt mean you canāt try! This is just the beginning, thereās much more to do. But Iāve got my dancing shoes & boxing gloves onāIām ready!ā #PhotographMovie A post shared by Humans of Bombay (@officialhumansofbombay) on Mar 11, 2019 at 5:46am PDT
