Ila Arun Calls Nawazuddin Siddiqui 'Sincere' And 'Dedicated' Actor: He Did Wonders By Playing A Transgender In 'Haddi'

Nawazuddin Siddiqui starrer 'Haddi' trailer was unveiled recently and we see him in a never-seen-before avatar. Directed by Akshat Ajay Sharma, the film also stars veteran actress Ila Arun who always brings something different to the table. The seasoned actress and folk singer plays an integral part in the bone-chilling revenge drama. 'Haddi' marks Nawazuddin and Ila's fourth collaboration. Recently, Outlook India had a conversation with the 'Mandi' actress where she spoke highly about Siddiqui. 

Ila Arun said that she might be senior to Nawazuddin in terms of age or experience but she calls him 'superior in his own self'. She added, ''He is a very dedicated artist and each time it's a treat to work with him. How he gets into the body of a particular character and he stays in it while shooting. It's not like he gives the shot and gets busy on social media or talking to his manager or someone else. He gets into the body and that is a very challenging and learning thing that inspires me. There is no junior or senior. I may be senior by age or experience but you get to learn a lot from his approach. To have that kind of energy, sincerity, dedication and selfishness. An actor should be selfish in with how much honesty he is in the character and not how much footage he gets.''

She added, ''As a mother, we had lots of interactions. If I have seen him becoming a police in Raat Akeli Hain, I have also seen him becoming a writer in Ghoomketu. He was something else in Haddi. So, I had the opportunity to observe him closely and learn from him''. 

Ila herself is playing a transgender and it was very challenging for her as she hasn't done anything like this before in her career. 

Recently, Sushmita Sen played the transgender activist Shree Gauri Sawant in 'Taali'. A section of viewers criticized the makers for not casting a transgender actor in the role. When we asked Ila about that 'Haadi' might also face such criticism, to which she said it's not right. She further added, ''An actor has the quality to live lives of others.  If you ask my mother to go and play the role of a mother in a film, she will be camera-conscious. It's not that easy. If Milkha Singh has run, it's not necessary that his son will also run. An actor does the preparations. All transgenders can't be actors. Ivanka (Das) is a transgender. She has also worked in Ghoomer. She can act and she is beautiful.''

The 69-year-old actress also said that it's not necessary that all transgenders should be actors. ''It's not a documentary, it's fiction. For fiction, you need actors. For a paralysis role, will you cast a paralysed actor? For that, you need a great actor. An actor sometimes becomes a sportsperson, sometimes a doctor. To criticise Sushmita, it's not right. She has done wonders. You have to appreciate her or Nawaz that they have got into the body of a transgender. I will clap for Nawazuddin and Sushmita both and they did wonders''.

''It is very difficult for a person to act his own pain. It's not a documentary, so he can't do it. One or two transgenders ran away from sets. There are lots of things on set from the camera to the crane. So, he is not being able to act. Critics should understand this and should know before criticising,'' Ila Arun concluded. 

'Haddi' also stars Anurag Kashyap, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Sachdeva, Shridhar Dubey, Rajesh Kumar, Vipin Sharma, and Saharsh Shukla among others. It is all set to premiere on Zee5 on September 7.