Nawazuddin Siddiqui: ‘My Family Faces Caste Discrimination In Village’

Mumbai: Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, in a recent interview to NDTV, divulged how the caste system is deeply rooted in villages in Uttar Pradesh, including his own, Budhana, and how his family has to face discrimination despite his fame and success.

Siddiqui termed the recent murder and alleged gangrape of a 19-year-old Hathras girl as “very unfortunate”, and said that caste divides in villages are unaffected by any social media or campaigns.

“In my own family, my grandmother was from a lower caste. Even today, they have not accepted us because of my grandmother. The fact that I am famous doesn’t matter to them. It is deeply entrenched within them…it is in their veins. They consider it their pride. The Sheikh Siddiquis are the upper caste, and they will not have anything to do with those they consider beneath them. Even today, it is there. It is very difficult,” the ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ actor told NDTV.

Deliberating on the Hathras incident where the Dalit girl was assaulted by four upper-caste Thakur men, Siddiqui said, “What is wrong is wrong. Our artiste community is also speaking out against what happened in Hathras. It is very important to speak out. It is a very unfortunate incident.”

He said that people may not witness caste discrimination on Twitter, but they will find a different reality if they travel around.

Siddiqui, a critically-acclaimed actor who is known for his realistic characters, was last seen in Netflix’s movie ‘Serious Men’ where he played a father from the Dalit community.