Mumbai: Nawazuddin Siddiqui is earning plaudits for his act as a notorious serial killer in “Raman Raghav 2.0”, but getting into the skin of the character was not an easy task for the actor.
The actor says it was a ‘disturbing’ experience for him as there was a time while shooting for the movie when lines between right and wrong got blurred.
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s “Raman Raghav 2.0” narrates the story of the serial killer Raman Raghav, who went on a murder spree in Mumbai in the 1960s. It features Nawazuddin as the serial-killer, who was known by the name Psycho Raman, alongside Vicky Kaushal, who plays a police officer.
The actor, who carved a place for himself in the land of glitz and glamour with films like “The Lunchbox”, “Gangs of Wasseypur”, “Miss Lovely” and “Liar’s Dice”, says some roles live with you despite the completion of the film, and Raman Raghav was such project.
Asked about the impact of playing the role of a serial killer had in his life, Nawazuddin said: “Of course it has an impact especially when it is such a kind of role then the magnitude of the impact is greater”.
“You know what, I fell sick in between of the shoot of the film, so when I was hospitalised I was only thinking and talking about the scene I had shot before getting admitted. When you have to portray role of a person or believe in a notion that you don’t believes in your personal life then it can get disturbing,” Nawazuddin told IANS over phone.
He added: “So somewhere I could not tell what is right and what is wrong. Those lines in my life got blurred. Then what happens is that film gets completed but it stills remains alive in your life as it is said that ‘if you take something from the character then it also takes a lot of things out of your life.”
The actor, who also has “TE3N” ready for release, shared the quest to get life back on time takes a while.
He said: “At the end of the day, there comes a saturation point in your life, then you have to regain normal life, your social life.”
Talking about his role, Nawazuddin said: “It is a different role because it is not a normal character. He has a different thought, different philosophy and when you essaying that character then you need to feel his thought then only you will be able to do justice to it.
“If you see the role with a normal life perception then it is very disturbing. He is not at all normal.”
“Raman Raghav 2.0” is yet to release in India, but is already making the right noises on the foreign shores.
The film was applauded at the 69th Cannes Film Festival with hollywoodreporter.com stating that “Siddiqui’s demented serial killer ups the scare ante” and variety.com commenting that “the verve and nerve of Kashyap’s filmmaking continues to excite.”
The film is slated for June 24 release.
