Exclusive! Nawazuddin Siddiqui: Some critics give biased film reviews and attack actors personally

Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays a pivotal role in Sudhir Mishra's Afwaah, is gearing up for his next film, Jogira Sara Ra Ra. Ahead of the release of the film, he said that many times, negative reviews and discouragement from film critics for comparatively small-budget yet good-content films do not allow them to survive in theatres.

Nawazuddin told OTTplay, "I am not generalising, but I have observed that some film critics express their opinion on a film based on their relationship with the makers or actors. It then becomes a personal attack. In the recent past, we have seen how actors are getting targeted and constantly trolled on social media, which affects the business of their films. I am not saying that all the films that are released have great stories, but at times, films, especially small ones, need more support from the critics to encourage audiences to watch them in theatres. Why is the merit of a film based on the image or some choices of an actor?"

The actor, who is a part of the Telugu film Saindhav, which is directed by Sailesh Kolanu and also stars Venkatesh Daggubati and Shraddha Srinath, pointed out that footfalls in theatres for South Indian films are only increasing, but Hindi-language films are suffering at the box office.

"In the South, all actors and filmmakers are respected. They really have a strong, loyal fanbase. In Hindi films, even though people love our work, the fandom is not that strong. In the South, if they love an actor, the fan clubs start promoting a film from the time the trailer is released. They make sure that they go to theatres in great numbers to watch the film. Apart from a few actors, we do not have such a loyal audience for Hindi films, who will watch a film in theatres no matter what. We need to change that attitude," explained The Lunchbox actor.

Nawazuddin plays the central character in Jogira Sara Ra Ra, in which he returns to the comedy genre after a long time.

Directed by Kushan Nandy, Jogira Sara Ra Ra is produced by Kiran Shroff and Naeem Siddiqui. It also stars Neha Sharma, Sanjay Mishra, Mimoh Chakraborty, and Zarina Wahab, among others.

The film will release in theatres on May 26