A National Award winning actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui says he remains unaffected when his critically acclaimed movies fail to be recognised at any "commercial" award ceremonies.
At most Bollywood award galas, it is "Bajrangi Bhaijaan", "Piku" and "Bajirao Mastani" which won the top honours. Clearly, Nawazuddin's "Manjhi - The Mountain Man" -- on Bihar's 'Mountain Man' who single handedly cut a road through a hill to connect his village -- has not been in the picture.
Siddiqui, who appeared at the 22nd Lions Gold Awards here, said: "Commercial awards don't affect me anymore. Those who get the awards, they feel happy and those who are not (getting any), feel upset."
"This award (Lions Gold Award) is important for me as they select only those actors whose performances have been really good, compared to other awards functions."
"Nobody gave me award for 'Gangs of Wasseypur' except Lions Gold Award for the character of Faisal Khan, which became iconic. Now, I am receiving an award for 'Manjhi...', which went unnoticed in all award events even after audience liked the movie," he added.
Ketan Mehta's "Manjhi - The Mountain Man" was commercially not very successful. But it was performances of Radhika Apte and Nawazuddin which pulled audience to the theatre.
The 49-year-old actor, who has dabbled in a variety of roles, said: "Stardom is something I do not think about. I am still trying to be an actor."
He will next be seen in "Raees" and "TE3N".