Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s performance in New York left everyone on the set in awe and brought Irrfan to tears, according to Kabir Khan.
One of the best actors in Hindi film is Nawazuddin Siddiqui. He has put in a lot of effort to become one of today’s most successful performers. Irrfan Khan broke down in tears watching Nawaz perform during his rough patch in New York.
The 2009 movie was released with Katrina Kaif, John Abraham, Irrfan Khan, and Neil Nitin Mukesh in the key roles. Nawaz had a powerful sequence that stole the show in the movie. The film’s director, Kabir Khan, said that there was only one take, and that take alone moved everyone in the room.
In a Humans of Cinema interview, Kabir Khan recounted how, following the release of New York, a lot of people believed that Nawazuddin Siddiqui wasn’t an actor but rather a real-life case study because so many people approached him and inquired about how he met the man.
Kabir recalled how Nawazuddin’s audition had given him confidence in his choice. “My assistant in New York was director Ali Abbas Zafar. He displayed the Nawazuddin audition to me. We had to find this guy, I told you to do anything,” he recalls.
The moment we saw in the movie was only shot once, Kabir recalled the shooting day. “I never did another take because when I shouted cut, some members of the crew started crying and others started applauding. It is a non-stop 3–4 minute take. Irrfan entered a half-hour later, and he announced that Nawaz’s performance was the topic of conversation, the speaker recounted.
Nawazuddin played Zilgai in New York, a man who was tortured while being held on suspicion after 9/11. Ultimately, he is fired, but the ordeal was damaging to him. As Kabir walked him to the monitor and showed him the take, Irrfan started to sob. Irrfan was crying as he watched the video when I brought him over to the monitor and turned it on. He went and gave Nawaz a hug,” he said.
New York opened to overwhelmingly favourable reviews from critics and won several accolades.
