In 2018, Nawazuddin Siddiqui was seen in two feature films, one BBC One TV series, and one web series on Netflix. He also made a guest appearance as himself in the song ‘Mushkil Hai Apna Meil Priye’ in the movie Mukkabaaz.
Siddiqui’s first movie release of the year was the Anil Sharma directed action thriller ‘Genuis’. Anil’s son Utkarsh Sharma made his acting debut in the lead role and Nawazuddin essayed the role of the villain as Samar Khan, while Mithun Chakraborty had a supporting role. The film released on Aug 24, 2018 and was a critical and commercial failure.
The biographical drama movie ‘Manto’ featuring Siddiqui in the titular role premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 13th May 2018. The biopic was based on the life of well-known Urdu author and poet Saadat Hasan Manto. The movie was written and directed by Nandita Das and produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, Filmstoc, and HP Studios. It was theatrically released in India on 21st September 2018 and was critically lauded and appreciated for the acting, direction, and screenplay. Manto underperformed at the box office.
Sacred Games was a crime gangster thriller web series based on the book of the same name written by Vikram Chandra. It was the first Netflix original series to be made in India. It featured Siddiqui as the main villain Ganesh Gaitonde, while Saif Ali Khan played the hero cop Sartaj Singh. Other cast members in supporting roles included Radhika Apte, Jeetendra Joshi, Kubra Sait, Neeraj Kabi, Rajshri Deshpande, Girish Kulkarni, Karan Wahi, Jatin Sarna, Aamir Bashir, and Elnaaz Norouzi. Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane directed the series as well as produced it under their production house Phantom Films.
The first 4 episodes of Sacred Games premiered on Netflix on June 29, 2018, while the rest of the remaining 4 episodes released on July 6, 2018. The series met with critical acclaim, particularly for its writing, direction, and performances. It was a big hit with the audience as well. Netflix announced a second season in Sep 2018. Sacred Games – the second season releases in July 2019.
The British crime-drama TV series McMafia featured Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Dilly Mahmood, an Indian business partner. BBC, Cuba Pictures, and AMC co-produced the series while James Watkins directed it. The series was telecast on BBC One on Jan 1, 2018 and later on AMC on Feb 26, 2018. As of Jan 2019, an eight-episode second series for McMafia has been commissioned by BBC One.
Listed below are the upcoming film projects of Siddiqui.
- Petta: This film marks the acting debut of Siddiqui in the Tamil film industry. Rajnikanth plays the main lead and Nawazuddin is the lead antagonist Singaar Singh. Other cast members include Vijay Sethupathi, M. Sasikumar, Bobby Simha, Trisha, Simran, Guru Somasundaram, and J. Mahendran. The movie has been produced by Sun Pictures/Kalanithi Maran and directed by Karthik Subbaraj. It released in theaters on 10th Jan 2019 and was praised by the critics as being a mass Rajnikanth film of the yesteryears. The film collected over INR 36 crores at the box office on the opening day and is all set to become another massive hit for Rajnikanth.
- Thackeray: It is a biopic film which stars Nawazuddin as Thackeray, the firebrand leader and founder of the right wing Hindutva political party ‘Shiv Sena’. It has been produced by Shiv Sena leader and politician Sanjay Raut and directed by Abhijit Panse. The trailer of the film was released on 26 Dec 2018 and was liked by viewers. The film is set to release in theaters on Jan 25, 2019.
- Ghoomketu: It is a much delayed film that was initially set for a theatrical release on Nov 16, 2018. As per reports, it may finally release in 2019 though no date has been formally announced by the makers. This comedy flick features Siddiqui in the lead role as an aspiring writer who travels from Lucknow to Mumbai to be able to be in films. Other cast members include Anurag Kashyap, Richa Chadda, and Ragini Khanna, while Amitabh Bachchan, Sonakshi Sinha, and Ranveer Singh will make special appearances. Pushpendra Misra has directed the film and Phantom Films has produced it.
- Untitled film by Tannishtha Chatterjee: This thriller featuring Siddiqui will be the directorial debut of actress Tannishtha Chatterjee. Eros International, Ravi Walia, Rising Star Entertainment, Pankaj Razdan are the producers. The release date has not been finalized.
- The Music Teacher: As per reports, Ketan Mehta is all set to direct Nawazuddin in another movie, after 2015’s Majhi: The Mountain Man, titled ‘The Music Teacher’. The release date of this drama flick has not been finalized.
- Phobia 2: The sequel to the critically praised 2016 psychological thriller movie Phobia will feature Siddiqui in the main lead. Viki Rajani will produce it and Pawan Kripalani will direct it. No information is available about the release date of the film.
- Farzi: Directed by the famed director-duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, Farzi features Arjun Kapoor and Kriti Sanon in the main leads. Siddiqui has an important role to play in the movie. Eros Entertainment is producing this drama film. The release date has not been finalized.
- Untitled film by Sujoy Ghosh: This drama movie features Saif Ali Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead roles, while Nawazuddin will portray a vital supporting role. The release date has not been finalized.
- Bombay Samurai: Directed by Dev Bengal, this drama features Farhan Akhtar and Kareena Kapoor Khan as the lead characters, while Siddiqui has been cast in a supporting role. Aktar will produce the film. The release date has not been finalized.
- Chandamama Door Ke: It is a sci-fi movie set in space. Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, National Award winner director, will be at the helm as the director while Viki Rajani will produce the film. Sushant Singh Rajput was initially cast in the lead, but he dropped out. As of Jan 2019, the main cast members are Nawazuddin and R Madhavan.
- Murder 4: As per rumors, Siddiqui is set to appear as ‘Kaafir’ in the fourth installment of the successful Murder series.
